This page explains how articles on ScienceBases are commissioned, researched, checked and updated. It applies to every page on the site.
Independence
Editorial decisions are made by the editorial team, not by advertisers, affiliate managers or brands. No brand can pay for a review, a score, a ranking or a place in a “best of” list. Sponsored content, where we publish it, is labelled as sponsored and never presented as an editorial assessment. Commission rates play no part in product selection.
How topics are chosen
We start from a question a reader is actually asking — how does this work, is this kit worth buying, what should I check before I spend money — and then look at what is available and worth explaining. We do not commission articles because a category pays well.
How products are selected
Candidates are shortlisted on materials, construction, age grading, safety documentation, warranty and return terms, consumable costs, and the volume and consistency of credible owner complaints. Commission rate is not a criterion. Where a cheaper option performs equivalently, the article says so instead of steering to the highest-paying listing.
Research standards
Mechanism first. Explanations are built from the underlying science, with the numbers that make the explanation checkable.
Specifications that decide the outcome. Resolution rather than magnification, actual chemical contents rather than “40 experiments”, usable magnification under real lighting rather than the theoretical maximum.
Documentation. Manufacturer specifications, manuals, safety data sheets and age grading, read directly. Where a certification or standard is cited (CE, ASTM F963, EN 71), we name what it actually verifies and what it does not.
Evidence review. Where an article touches on learning outcomes or health, claims are checked against peer-reviewed research, and we state plainly when the evidence is weak, mixed or absent.
Cost of ownership. Purchase price against realistic service life, plus consumables — refill chemicals, slides, replacement lenses, subscription renewals after the introductory term.
Hands-on experience, stated honestly
We separate what we have used from what we have assessed on paper, and the article says which it is.
- Where a member of the team has used a product or run an activity, the relevant section describes that experience.
- Where an assessment is based on specifications, documentation and reported experience only, the article states that explicitly rather than implying testing.
- We do not claim laboratory measurement, instrumented testing or sample sizes we have not carried out.
- We do not publish invented ratings, or “we tested 12 models” framing where no such testing took place.
Sources and claims
Scientific claims are checked against primary literature and recognised institutional sources, and we link to them where possible. We avoid absolute claims — “proves”, “guarantees”, “cures” — that the evidence does not support. Where a mechanism is plausible but unproven, we describe it as plausible and unproven.
Safety and supervision
Experiments and kits are described with the supervision level their documentation specifies. Where a hazard exists — heat, sharp glass, chemicals, mains electricity, UV — the article names it rather than burying it in a warning box. Nothing on this site is a substitute for a responsible adult’s judgement about a specific child.
Review and update cycle
Every article carries a last-updated date. Buying guides and anything price- or availability-sensitive are reviewed at least every six months; evergreen explainers are reviewed annually. When a product is discontinued or a specification changes, we update the article or mark it as outdated.
Corrections
When we get something wrong we correct it and note the change in the article. To report an error, email contact@sciencebases.com with the URL and the source you believe is correct.
Use of AI tools
We use software tools, including AI-assisted drafting, to speed up research summaries and first drafts. Every article is reviewed, fact-checked and edited by a human before publication, and the editorial team is accountable for what is published. We do not publish unreviewed machine-generated articles.
Advertising and affiliate relationships
Affiliate links are marked with rel="sponsored". Articles containing affiliate links carry a disclosure notice before the first link. Display advertising, where present, is kept visually separate from editorial content. See the Affiliate Disclosure.
Last updated: October 2026