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FASO-RP-001 · Research publication method

Evidence, observation, hypothesis, protocol and finding must remain distinct.

This method defines the public record required for FASO research to remain testable, appropriately limited and correctable. It governs presentation; it does not itself validate any technical or institutional proposition.

Method publishedFASO-RP-001 · Version 1.0 · 27 July 2026This method governs the classification and presentation of Project FASO research publications. It is open to later review and identified revision.

Purpose

Make every research claim traceable to its actual evidential status.

This method establishes how Project FASO will identify, classify, version, present, correct and retain research publications. It is designed to prevent an observation from being presented as a demonstrated cause, a proposed protocol from being presented as completed validation, or a preliminary result from being presented as a general finding.

A working hypothesis cannot be presented as a finding. A completed internal investigation cannot be presented as independently validated unless that separate validation has actually occurred.

FASO presents information and the evidence supporting it. It does not judge motive, assign blame or state conclusions beyond what the evidence supports.

Mandatory separation

Five statements that must never be collapsed.

  1. Established backgroundWhat identified external research or accepted source material supports.
  2. Operational observationWhat Project FASO reports seeing in its own work, with the applicable evidence and independence limitations.
  3. Working hypothesisA proposed explanation capable of being contradicted by controlled evidence.
  4. Validation protocolThe declared method by which the proposition is to be tested.
  5. Research findingWhat completed evidence supports within the protocol, population, conditions and stated limitations.

Publication classes

Classification determines what a document may claim.

Evidence report

Presents identified external evidence and its limitations. It does not imply that FASO investigated the underlying event.

Working hypothesis

Defines a falsifiable proposition, its formation, established background, competing explanations and unresolved questions.

Validation protocol

Defines variables, controls, sample boundaries, scoring, evidence requirements, analysis, stopping conditions and falsification tests before execution.

Research finding

Reports completed results, negative evidence, deviations, uncertainty, limitations and independent review status without expanding the tested scope.

Institutional publication

Reports governance, funding, conflicts, authority, correction and accountability while protecting information that law, safety or legitimate confidentiality requires FASO to hold.

Evidence lifecycle

Status changes are recorded; they are not implied.

ObservationWorking hypothesisProtocol proposedProtocol acceptedInvestigationFindingReview or replication

A publication advances only when the evidence and authority required for the next status exist. Failure to support a proposition, an inconclusive result or withdrawal is a valid research outcome and remains part of the record.

Required publication record

Every complete publication must carry enough information to be challenged.

  • Complete title, unique identifier, version, publication type and status.
  • Publisher, responsible authority, publication date and independent-review status.
  • Research question, scope, definitions and applicable competing explanations.
  • Sources, evidence boundaries, method, deviations, results and limitations.
  • Correction, supersession and withdrawal history.
  • A recommended citation and an authoritative permanent location.

Correction and version integrity

Correct transparently without rewriting history.

Minor typographical corrections may be recorded without changing the substantive version. Any change to meaning, evidence, method, result or conclusion requires an identified new version. Superseded and withdrawn versions remain discoverable with their status and explanation. A later correction must never be backdated into an earlier publication.

Social media and summaries

The summary inherits the boundary of the complete publication.

Every public summary must state or make immediately clear whether the source is an evidence report, working hypothesis, proposed protocol or completed finding. It must link to the authoritative complete text and must not use certainty, novelty or causation language stronger than that text.

Recommended citation

Cite the identified version.

Project FASO. (2026). The Project FASO Research and Publication Method. FASO-RP-001, Version 1.0, 27 July 2026.

Apply the method

Examine the first Project FASO working hypothesis.

The publication identifies what is established, what FASO observed, what it proposes and what remains to be tested.

Read the working hypothesisResearch and publications