Show the evidence.
Important factual claims should point to sources. Measured facts should be separated from judgment and recommendation.
R
Research
Measure what matters. Explain it plainly.
Our political orientation should be obvious. Our research methods should be obvious too.
Flagship work
The American High Trust Study.
A defensible account of the rise and decline of high trust in the United States.
The study is intended to establish a timeline, test competing explanations, identify turning points, and separate causes from symptoms. State Trust Profiles will then show how those forces differ across the country.
Research standard
Simple does not mean sloppy.
Use the same rules.
Compare states and time periods consistently. Publish assumptions behind rankings, measurements, and scores.
Correct the record.
Correct errors publicly and do not change a standard because it produces an inconvenient political result.
Publication pipeline
What will appear here.
Founding prospectusMission and operating concept — complete, with public download being attached at launch.
American High Trust StudyResearch design and first major analysis.
Pilot State Trust ProfilesA small number of state-level diagnoses before national expansion.
Issue papersFocused analysis that demonstrates the method and informs the Roadmap.
Issue papers
Public Safety
Fraud & Honest Dealing
Family Stability
Government Competence
Work & Opportunity
“Write for an intelligent citizen, not for an academic gatekeeper.”High Trust Society Foundation research standard