UNDERLOAD takes a close look at the questions shaping construction: who does the work, how the industry operates, and what is changing. We begin with a genuine question. We follow the evidence, including when it challenges our starting assumptions.
How we check the research
We check factual claims against their sources before publication. Where available, we use original research, official statistics, public records and direct reporting. A press release or interested party’s account can tell us what someone claims; it does not, by itself, establish that the claim is true.
For statistics, we check the publication date and edition, geography, population or cohort, denominator, time period, units and definitions. We check calculations and chart scales, and preserve the source and verification notes in a research register. We explain material limitations and link readers to the underlying evidence wherever possible.
We apply those checks to the article, drawings, charts, narration, video and social excerpts. A simplified visual must preserve the meaning of the evidence. Generated numbers are not evidence and are never published without source verification.
What we know — and what we do not
We distinguish verified findings from our interpretation and from questions that remain unresolved. Forecasts are described as forecasts. Examples and hypothetical patterns are labelled as illustrations. An announced program is not evidence of availability, uptake or results.
We explain when evidence is dated, limited, contested or drawn from a sample that may not represent the whole industry. We do not describe an association as proof of cause. If evidence cannot support a claim, we narrow it, identify it as an unresolved hypothesis, or leave it out.
Reporting fairly
We assess evidence on its merits and give people or organizations a reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations or significant criticism of their conduct before publication. Their response is considered as part of the reporting; it does not give them approval over the story.
We disclose relevant financial, employment, ownership or personal relationships that could affect how readers assess the work. Where a conflict cannot be managed credibly, we change the assignment or decline it.
Accountability
Our website is the permanent home of each piece we publish, with sources and any material correction notes. Readers can question our work or flag an error through our editorial contact. We reconsider conclusions when reliable new evidence warrants it.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we correct it and say what changed. How to flag an error, and how corrections appear, is set out on our corrections page.