Methodology

From question to page

1. Search intent. Find the question people actually ask, and check that Vietnam is central to the honest answer.
2. Research. Read the current search results and the strongest available sources.
3. Source collection. Register each source with its class, what we read of it and when.
4. Fact validation. Keep only claims a registered source supports; record conflicts between sources instead of choosing one silently.
5. Structure. Decide what belongs in a table, a timeline, a map or a definition rather than prose.
6. Reference asset. Build the comparison, calendar or map that makes the page more than a summary.
7. Draft. Write the answer first, then the explanation, in plain English.
8. Internal linking. Connect the page to its product, region, process and comparisons.
9. Metadata. Title, description, structured data that matches what is visible.
10. Accessibility and performance. Usable by keyboard and screen reader; fast without heavy scripts.
11. Review. A check against our quality gate, and a scheduled date to look again.

Source classes

Sources are not equal, and we do not treat them as if they were. Every source in our registry carries one of these classes, shown next to it wherever it is cited.

Primary

Governments, regulators, standards bodies, official statistics

Scientific

Peer-reviewed papers, scientific reviews, botanical databases

Industry

Recognised trade bodies and trade-promotion agencies

Secondary

Editorial and reference publications

Commercial

Producer and exporter claims — reported as claims, never as fact

Forums

Forums and social posts — evidence of questions people ask, not of answers

Regulatory limits come only from primary sources; chemical values only from scientific ones. An exporter’s description of its own product is reported as a claim. Forum posts tell us which questions people ask, never what the answer is.

How much we read

Each citation also says how much of the source we actually read:

Read in full

We read the whole source.

Abstract read

We read the abstract; figures may come through a review that reproduces them, which we name.

Cited through another source

We could not open it ourselves and say which source we relied on.

Read from a search excerpt

The page blocked automated access; the figure needs a browser check before it carries weight.

Title and status only

A paid standard: we name it but do not reproduce its limits.

Numbers

Every figure carries its source and, where it changes over time, its year. When sources disagree — as they do on star anise production in Vietnam — we show the range and who says what, rather than picking the most convenient number. When no reliable figure exists, the page says so.

What we do not do

• We do not give health or dietary advice. Composition, with sources, is in scope; what to do with your body is not.
• We have not visited the farms we describe, tasted the products, tested samples or verified any supplier, and nothing on the site should be read as if we had.
• We do not sell products, take payment for coverage or rank suppliers.

Corrections

Every page shows the date it was last reviewed and a scheduled date for the next review. When we correct a fact, the page’s review date changes and the corrected source appears in its source list. Pages whose figures rest on a source we could only read in excerpt are flagged in that list until the figure is checked.