Sources & Citations Policy
How BrainMatter selects, attributes, and links to sources — and what we ask of readers who cite us in turn.
Key takeaways
- We prefer primary peer-reviewed research over secondary reporting.
- Every empirical claim links to a source whenever one exists.
- We attribute organisations and authors by name rather than as 'experts say'.
Source hierarchy
1. Peer-reviewed research and pre-registered studies. 2. Official documents from organisations like OECD, WHO, UNESCO, national academies. 3. Reputable journalism and analyst reports. 4. Books and long-form essays by recognised researchers. We avoid anonymous sources, unsourced claims, and 'experts say' phrasing.
Linking practice
External links open in a new tab with rel='noopener noreferrer'. We link to the most authoritative version of a source available (publisher of record, preprint server, or institutional page).
Citing BrainMatter
BrainMatter content is published under CC BY-NC 4.0. You may quote and adapt with attribution for non-commercial use. For commercial reuse, contact us.