Truly Curious covers pure basic research – and the struggles and triumphs of the real people behind it. To ensure that, these are the rules we rely on:
Sourcing
Every feature is built on primary interviews, almost always recorded on video. We do not write pieces from press releases, journal abstracts or other publications’ coverage (mea culpa: we have done so in the past). When we draw on published papers, we read them and follow up on related research. We are not going through the motions of generating content.
Quotes
What is in quotation marks is what was said. Standard editorial marks ensure clarity. We use ellipses for omissions, square brackets or parentheses where context is needed, partial quotes where a full sentence would obscure rather than reveal. If the quote is beyond resuscitation, we paraphrase the material, making sure the attribution remains.
Independent voices
Every piece carries comments from other experts in the field who may concur or disagree with the interviewee’s conclusions.
Fact-checking
The researchers are part of the process. They can see how they have been quoted and their work characterized. They can fix factual errors that involve their work and what they said. They have no say in the rest of the writing, and will have no access to the quotes we have got from others.
Conflicts of interest
Unless we can’t find it, we disclose any funding sources, commercial affiliations or other influences that may have bearing on the work we’ve covered.
What we cover
We look for interesting research findings that could genuinely surprise a non-specialist. Work that tells us nothing new about the world usually does not make the cut, even if it is otherwise noteworthy.
Sponsored material
If we ever run sponsored content, it will appear under a house byline. It will be labeled at the top, set in different type, and boxed off from editorial. A reader should never have to work out which is which. Sponsors have no say in editorial content.
Corrections
Corrections and changes are described in italics at the foot of the piece, with the date. Anything that alters meaning gets a note. Typographical and formatting fixes are made silently.
AI
Set out separately, here.