Research Transparency
Institutional trust requires transparency. This page documents WIL's methodologies, data sources, update frequencies, research standards, confidence framework, and publication review process.
Methodologies
All analytical frameworks are documented in the Methodology Registry with version history, validation status, and component transparency. Framework maturity is classified as Experimental, Beta, Validated, or Institutional.
Data sources
WIL research draws exclusively from primary public sources and curated activity trackers. The Dataset Registry catalogs each dataset with coverage, geography, refresh frequency, and data dictionaries.
Update frequencies
| Source | Frequency | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| BLS OEWS | Annual | Compensation medians · role families |
| BLS QCEW | Quarterly | Construction employment · state markets |
| USAspending | Quarterly | Federal award momentum · obligations |
| Census BPS | Monthly | Building permit authorizations |
| EIA-860M | Quarterly | Planned generation capacity |
| Multi-ATS postings | Monthly snapshot | Hiring demand signals |
| Contractor registries | Quarterly | License supply census |
Research standards
- Directional operational reads — not deterministic forecasts or hiring recommendations
- Banded outputs (High, Elevated, Moderate, Low) rather than point estimates where uncertainty is material
- Source attribution on every publication with methodology version cited
- Versioned methodology revisions with documented change history
- Confidence framing on every publication — see confidence framework below
- No employer rankings, no compensation offers, no recruiting recommendations
Confidence framework
Multiple corroborating public sources; validated methodology; stable data cadence.
Primary source available but with known lag, coverage gaps, or single-source dependency.
Directional read from partial data; significant coverage or timeliness constraints.
Experimental methodology or composite under validation; interpret as signal, not finding.
Publication review process
- Draft — Research fellow or analyst produces initial working paper
- Internal review — Methodology team validates source attribution and confidence framing
- Advisory review — External methodology advisors review framework applications (for Tier 1 reports)
- Publication — Released to the public research library with full metadata
- Revision — Updated on source refresh cadence; version history maintained in methodology registry