Our evidence policy

What we commit to

Every claim on this site is cited to a source. Every source carries two tags: what kind of evidence it is, and how peer-reviewed it is. We don't filter evidence by publication status alone — we show it with the appropriate label and let you weight it.

Our labels

Evidence class — what kind of evidence it is

• RCT — Randomized controlled trial in humans. Strongest single-study evidence.
• Human observational — Non-randomized human study: cohort, case series, real-world clinical notes. Lower weight than RCTs, but still real-world human data.
• Animal — Controlled experiment in an animal model. Mechanism signal, not proof of human effect.
• In vitro — Cell culture, enzyme assay, molecular binding. Mechanism only.
• Mechanism — Theoretical article proposing how something could work, without empirical test.
• Expert review — Narrative review, scoping review, meta-analysis.
• Registered trial — Trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with no results posted yet.

Validation status — how peer-reviewed it is

• Peer-reviewed — Published in a peer-reviewed journal. The default. No visual label.
• PREPRINT — Posted to a preprint server (bioRxiv, medRxiv, Preprints.org, Research Square, F1000Research pre-review). Not yet peer-reviewed. Always visually labeled.
• ACTIVE TRIAL — Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with no results posted. Always visually labeled.

What we don't cite

• Forum anecdote that hasn't been aggregated into a published or preprint study
• Retail or vendor marketing claims
• Social media posts, YouTube transcripts, podcast opinions
• Content from other peptide information sites — we go to the primary source

Why this matters

Peptides have thin published RCT evidence. If we only cited peer-reviewed PubMed PMIDs, most of the actual evidence base would be invisible — real-world co-use data, ongoing trials, preprints that often become published papers in 12 to 18 months. Labeling by quality gives you more information, not less, as long as the labels are honest and the preprint-to-publication pipeline is actively tracked. We maintain a watchlist of every preprint we cite and update entries when they get peer-reviewed.

We will sometimes tell you the honest answer is "no human trials exist on this." That's not a bug of this policy — it's the point of it.

Keep us honest

Spot an error? A missing study? A citation we got wrong? Email corrections@peptidechats.com. We update when the evidence does.