Ethics & Integrity
CGO Media is committed to conducting and publishing research with independence, transparency, accuracy and accountability. These standards explain the principles that guide our research, analysis and publication.
Executive Summary
The credibility of research depends not only on what is published, but on how evidence is selected, analysed, interpreted and communicated.
CGO Media aims to maintain clear standards around research independence, source quality, attribution, conflicts of interest, responsible use of artificial intelligence, corrections, authorship and the distinction between research findings and commercial activity.
Our objective is to publish work that can be examined, questioned, cited and, where appropriate, corrected as new evidence becomes available.
Our Core Research Principles
Independence
Research findings should reflect the evidence and analysis rather than commercial preferences, client relationships or predetermined conclusions.
Transparency
We aim to explain the basis of our research, including methodology, evidence sources, material limitations and relevant disclosures.
Accuracy
Factual claims, statistics and source references should be checked with reasonable care before publication.
Accountability
Where material errors are identified, we aim to investigate and correct them in accordance with our published corrections standards.
Fair Interpretation
Evidence should be represented in context and should not be presented selectively in a way that materially distorts its meaning.
Responsible Publication
Research should be communicated in a way that distinguishes evidence, interpretation, uncertainty and opinion where those distinctions are relevant.
Research Independence
CGO Media conducts research in areas connected with search, artificial intelligence, generative engine optimisation, digital discovery, online authority and organisational visibility.
CGO Media also provides commercial services in related fields. We therefore recognise the importance of maintaining a clear distinction between research evidence and commercial promotion.
Research conclusions should not be altered to favour a client, partner, technology provider or commercial service.
Where a material commercial relationship could reasonably influence how a publication is interpreted, CGO Media aims to disclose that relationship within or alongside the relevant research.
Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest may arise where a financial, professional, commercial or personal relationship could reasonably be perceived as influencing research design, analysis or publication.
The existence of a potential conflict does not automatically invalidate research. The appropriate response is transparency and, where necessary, additional review or disclosure.
CGO Media aims to disclose material conflicts that could reasonably affect a reader's interpretation of a research publication.
Researchers and contributors should also avoid presenting undisclosed commercial advocacy as independent research.
Source Selection and Evidence Standards
Research quality depends heavily on the quality of its underlying evidence.
CGO Media aims to prioritise sources that are relevant, traceable and appropriate to the research question. These may include academic literature, official statistics, government publications, platform documentation, original datasets, industry research, technical documentation and other credible primary or secondary sources.
Source quality may vary by subject. Where authoritative primary evidence is available, it should generally be preferred over unsupported secondary commentary.
The presence of a citation does not mean that CGO Media endorses every statement, commercial activity or opinion associated with the source.
Data Integrity
Data should not be fabricated, deliberately manipulated or selectively excluded for the purpose of producing a predetermined conclusion.
Where data has been cleaned, transformed, grouped, estimated or otherwise processed, the treatment should remain consistent with the research purpose and should not materially misrepresent the underlying evidence.
Where sampling, measurement or data-access limitations materially affect interpretation, those limitations should be acknowledged where reasonably possible.
Statistical relationships should not be described as causal unless the research design and evidence support that conclusion.
Interpretation and Research Claims
Research findings should be proportionate to the evidence available.
CGO Media aims to distinguish between observed evidence, interpretation, hypothesis, prediction and professional commentary where the distinction is material.
Research should not imply greater certainty than the underlying evidence supports.
Emerging areas such as generative AI and AI-mediated search may involve incomplete evidence, rapidly changing technologies and limited long-term datasets. These limitations should be considered when interpreting findings.
Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence tools may be used to support research workflows including information organisation, analysis, coding assistance, drafting, summarisation, structured comparison and quality assurance.
AI-generated material should not automatically be treated as factual evidence.
Material claims, statistics, quotations and references should be checked against appropriate sources before publication where verification is required.
Responsibility for the published work remains with the named researcher, author or CGO Media research team rather than the AI system used during the research process.
Authorship and Research Responsibility
Named authors should represent genuine intellectual or research contribution to the work.
Researchers are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the work attributed to them, subject to the limitations and disclosures stated in the publication.
Contributors, analysts, editors or technical specialists may be acknowledged where their contribution is material but does not justify primary authorship.
CGO Media does not regard automated systems as responsible authors of research publications.
Plagiarism, Attribution and Intellectual Work
Research should not present the work, words, ideas, data or original frameworks of others as if they were created by CGO Media.
Direct quotations should be clearly identified where used, and external evidence should be attributed to its source where appropriate.
Paraphrasing should not be used to conceal the origin of another researcher's distinctive idea, finding or model.
CGO Media likewise expects its own original research, models, figures and frameworks to be cited or attributed appropriately when reused by others.
People, Organisations and Research Subjects
Research involving identifiable people or organisations should be conducted and presented responsibly.
Analysis should avoid knowingly misleading characterisations, fabricated statements or unsupported allegations.
Publicly available organisational information may be analysed where relevant to legitimate research questions, but publication should remain proportionate to the research purpose.
Where research involves personal data, confidential information or protected categories of information, applicable legal and ethical requirements should be considered before collection, processing or publication.
Sponsored and Commissioned Research
Where research is sponsored, commissioned or financially supported by an external organisation, that relationship should be disclosed where it is material to interpretation.
Sponsorship should not give an external party undisclosed control over research conclusions.
Where a sponsor has influenced the research question, dataset, scope or publication process, that involvement should be described when relevant.
Corrections and Research Integrity
Research integrity includes correcting significant errors after publication.
CGO Media may amend research when factual errors, incorrect citations, material methodological problems or important new evidence are identified.
Minor editorial changes may be made without changing the substance of the research. Material corrections should, where appropriate, be recorded in accordance with our Corrections policy.
Research should not be left knowingly misleading simply because it has already been published.
Challenge, Criticism and Replication
Legitimate research should be open to scrutiny.
CGO Media welcomes evidence-based criticism, methodological challenge, correction requests and professional discussion of its published work.
A disagreement with a conclusion does not necessarily mean the research is incorrect, just as publication by CGO Media does not make a conclusion beyond challenge.
Where sufficient methodological information can reasonably be provided, we aim to support readers in understanding how a finding was reached.
Research and Commercial Services
CGO Media's research activities and commercial consultancy activities may address similar subject areas, but they serve different purposes.
Research seeks to analyse and explain evidence. Commercial services are designed to help organisations apply relevant insights, strategies and technical improvements.
Publication of a research finding does not mean that the reader is required to purchase CGO Media services, nor should the existence of a commercial service determine the conclusion of independent research.
Related Research Standards
This Ethics & Integrity policy forms part of CGO Media's wider research-governance framework.
It should be read alongside the Research Methodology, Research Architecture, Research Disclaimer, Corrections policy, Citation Guidance and Usage & Licensing guidance.
Together, these documents describe how CGO Media approaches research creation, evidence, interpretation, publication, attribution and correction.
Conclusion
CGO Media's research standards are built around independence, transparency, evidence and accountability.
We recognise that research into search, artificial intelligence and digital discovery operates in a fast-changing environment. New evidence can challenge existing conclusions, methodologies can improve and technologies can change rapidly.
Maintaining research integrity therefore requires more than publishing a methodology. It requires a continuing willingness to verify evidence, disclose relevant relationships, distinguish fact from interpretation, correct material mistakes and allow research to be scrutinised.
Last updated: September 2026