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Sahel Futures Independent research project Opening paper

Editorial standards

Evidence, sources and corrections

Daniel Spurr applies these rules to sourcing, analysis, corrections, source safety and the use of AI-assisted tools.

Evidence

Four rules for each paper

  1. 01

    Link claims that carry the argument

    Daniel links numbers, dates, legal changes and allegations to the document or reporting that supports them.

  2. 02

    Name the violence category

    Daniel distinguishes terrorism deaths, battle deaths, civilian targeting and violence by state forces. He places the dataset definition beside the statistic.

  3. 03

    Attribute disputed information

    Daniel labels a government, military or armed-group statement as a claim until another source confirms it.

  4. 04

    Record uncertainty

    Daniel states access gaps, missing records and conflicting estimates when they affect his conclusion.

Labels used in papers

Evidence and assessment

AEstablished fact
Daniel uses this label after he finds a primary document, observed material or confirmation from two independent sources.
BAssessment
Daniel cites the evidence, explains his judgement and records a credible alternative.
CContested claim
Daniel names the person or institution making the claim and records its verification status.
SScenario
Daniel lists observable indicators and the evidence that would weaken the scenario.

Source safety

Protect people before publication

Daniel removes names, metadata and operational detail when publication could expose a source, route, shelter, negotiation channel or community.

An editor may grant anonymity when the information matters, the source faces a credible risk and the editor knows the source’s identity. Daniel explains the reason without exposing the source.

Right of reply

Contact the subject of serious criticism

Daniel gives people and institutions time to answer material adverse findings when contact can occur without putting a source or community at risk.

Corrections

Record material errors on the article

Daniel writes the error, replacement text and time of change in a correction note. He may fix spelling, formatting and broken links without a note.

Material correction log: 0 entries. Daniel records catalogue fixes and review triggers in the research register.

Funding

Current institutional funding: none

If Sahel Futures accepts institutional funding, Daniel will name the funder and any restriction attached to the grant.

Daniel will retain editorial control and bar funders from confidential sources.

AI-assisted work

Daniel remains responsible for the research

Daniel can inspect more material with AI-assisted tools. He treats each output as a lead and verifies it against source material.

Research support

Daniel may use AI tools to find documents, compare reports, triage translations and test search terms. He checks the source material before he uses a result.

Data and production

Daniel may use AI tools to clean data, test code, draft map prototypes and review structure. He tests the output before publication.

Daniel records material AI assistance in each article. He keeps sensitive unpublished material out of consumer AI services.

Version 1.0 · July 2026

Daniel reviews this policy when a correction, contributor agreement or funding decision exposes a gap.

Read the project status