Accuracy
Dates, links, names, quotations, and descriptions are checked against the available source material.
Perma standards
Clear work, careful claims
Perma publishes information about training and performance with a preference for plain language, traceable sources, and honest limits. These standards describe the habits behind the articles, resources, events, and partnerships on this site.
They are designed for readers who want context rather than spectacle. A standard is useful only when it can be seen in the finished work, so the team applies these principles during planning, drafting, checking, and revision.
Four editorial commitments
Proportion
Language reflects the strength of the evidence and does not turn a small observation into a broad promise.
Respect
People are described as participants in varied circumstances, not as problems to be fixed or examples to be copied.
- Use the narrowest claim supported by the available source.
- Mark opinion, interpretation, and reported evidence distinctly.
- Disclose relevant commercial relationships and supplied material.
- Correct material factual errors with a clear update.
Publication route
How a page moves from idea to archive
- Brief: define the reader question, scope, audience, and intended format.
- Source: gather primary material, reputable references, and relevant local context.
- Draft: write with accessible terminology and a visible distinction between fact and interpretation.
- Review: check claims, dates, links, images, accessibility, and commercial disclosures.
- Maintain: monitor corrections, outdated links, and changes that affect reader understanding.
Claim and source overview
| Material | Preferred support | Reader-facing treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Measured definition | Recognised reference or documented method | Define the term and explain limits |
| Personal observation | Named author and clear setting | Present as context, not universal evidence |
| External statistic | Original source and date | Link or identify the source near the claim |
| Commercial statement | Partner information plus independent review | Label the relationship and avoid editorial blending |
A note on uncertainty
Uncertainty is not a weakness in an article. It can show where context matters, where studies use different methods, or where a reader should avoid drawing a conclusion from one detail. Perma uses qualified language when the available material supports a range rather than a single answer.
“The careful sentence is often the one that tells the reader what it cannot establish.”
Standards questions
How can I report a factual issue?
Send the page title, exact wording, source, and a concise explanation through the contact page.
Are sponsored pages reviewed differently?
They receive additional disclosure and suitability checks. Commercial support does not change the expectation of clear, neutral information.
When are pages updated?
Material changes are made when a correction, source change, broken link, or new context affects the reader’s understanding.
Applying the standard to a draft
A draft can be checked in layers. First ask whether the page answers the question it introduces. Then inspect whether each important statement has an appropriate source, whether the language matches the evidence, and whether a reader can tell what is editorial, commercial, personal, or externally supplied.
This layered review is especially useful for pages about performance, where confident language can easily outrun the underlying material. Perma prefers a qualified sentence that preserves meaning over a dramatic sentence that creates an inaccurate impression.
- Mark claims that need a source before editing for style.
- Check every date, name, link, and numerical description.
- Review headings separately because readers often scan them first.
- Read the page aloud to find ambiguity and unintended emphasis.
What a revision record preserves
| Revision type | Record retained | Reader benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Factual correction | Original issue and corrected source | Confidence that the page is maintained |
| Scope clarification | Updated wording and reason | Less risk of overreading a claim |
| Link replacement | Old destination and new reference | Continuity for future research |
| Disclosure update | Relationship and date of change | Clearer separation between content and partnership |
Material editorial records may be retained for up to seven years where needed to explain publication history, rights, accounting, or a correction. Personal details not needed for that purpose are restricted or removed.