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Editorial policy

Every guide on the Semantic Search Guide is researched from primary sources, written to a fixed set of accuracy rules, checked by automated quality gates and approved in a written review before it is published. It explains where information comes from, how numbers and code are handled, how AI assistance is used, how guides are reviewed and how errors are corrected. It applies to every guide on the site, including tutorials, comparisons and calculators.

Where information comes from

Guides are based on primary sources: the official documentation of the tools and databases being discussed, the original research papers behind each method, and established textbooks in information retrieval. Secondary summaries are not treated as evidence. When a guide relies on a specific source, it names the source in the text. Facts that depend on a product version, such as when a feature was added, are checked against that product’s documentation at the time of writing.

How numbers are handled

The guide does not invent statistics, benchmark results, customer stories, testimonials or reviews. A number on the site is one of three things: exact arithmetic that the guide shows, a figure attributed to a named source, or an illustrative value that is labelled as illustrative. When a reliable figure is not available, the guide explains how to measure it instead of guessing.

How code examples are checked

Code examples are written against the current documentation of the library or service they use. Where a local setup allows, examples are run as a check that the calls and parameters work before publication. Code that depends on a hosted service or a feature that could not be run locally is written from the documentation and noted as such. Code is included to show a pattern, and its output is not presented as a measured result.

How AI assistance is used

Guides are drafted with the help of AI writing tools. AI assistance is used for drafting and structure, not as a source of facts. Every factual claim must trace back to a primary source, exact arithmetic or a labelled example, and the review step checks for this. The SSG Team is responsible for everything published on the site.

How guides are reviewed

Before publication, every guide goes through automated checks and a written review. The automated checks cover sentence length and clarity, heading structure, page depth, internal links that point to real pages, and the absence of filler and unsupported claims. The written review records the sources used, what was checked and any limits of the guide, and ends with an explicit approval. A guide that fails any check is revised and checked again.

Each guide answers its main question in the opening paragraph, uses diagrams drawn for the page, and links to the related guides in its section, so readers can go deeper without leaving the site.

How independence is protected

The site has no commercial relationship with any vendor it covers. It does not accept payment, free products or advertising in exchange for coverage, and it uses no affiliate links. Product choices in tutorials and examples are made on editorial grounds. Sources are cited by name in the text rather than linked.

How guides are updated and corrected

Search tools change quickly, so guides are revisited when the products or methods they describe change. Each guide shows the date it was last updated. When an error is found, the guide is corrected and its updated date changes. Readers who spot an error are encouraged to report it, and reports are checked against the original sources before any change is made.