How the Journal reads
Desk research, set out honestly: what we read, what we do not do, and how the verdicts are reached.
Every piece in the Journal is the product of desk research. That is a plain description, not a modest one, and it is worth being clear about what it does and does not involve.
What we read
For each brand we go through its own website in some detail: the range as it stands on the day, the product pages, the fabric and material notes, the size and care guides, the delivery and returns policies, and whatever the brand says about itself on its own about page. We then read a good spread of published customer reviews, on the brand’s site and elsewhere, looking for the complaints that recur rather than the loudest single one. Where a brand publishes figures (delivery charges, return windows, thresholds for free postage) we record them with the date we read them in the Notes at the end of the piece.
What we do not do
We do not buy and wear, cook with, sleep on or ride the products. We do not run laboratory tests. We do not take samples from brands, and we do not accept hospitality. If a sentence in the Journal sounds as though we did any of these things, it is badly written and we would like to know.
How the verdicts work
There are no marks out of ten. Each piece opens with a short answer to the question a reader actually has, which is whether to buy from the brand at all, and ends with a Verdict that says so in a sentence. In between, the range is read line by line and each line gets one of three words: Our choice, Also considered or Not for us. These are opinions, formed by reading, and we would rather give a clear one than hedge.
Independence
Brands do not see pieces in advance, cannot pay to be included or excluded, and are not told when a piece is coming. The affiliate links described on the disclosure page do not affect what a piece says; a brand we would not buy from gets the same link as one we would, because the link is there for the reader’s convenience, not as a reward.
Corrections
If we have a fact wrong, we correct it in the piece and record the correction on the Errata page with the date. Opinions we stand by until we change them, and when we change them we say why.