Methodology
Every report ships its own methodology block, and every figure traces to a named source. The standards below govern all of them.
Sources, by hierarchy
Every figure traces to a named source the reader can check, drawn in priority order: official and primary records first, then peer-reviewed research, then established research organizations. Each source is labeled by type, so a measured share from a longitudinal study is never presented as the same kind of evidence as an organizational survey estimate.
First-party measurement
Where Covenant Research measures directly, we show the method. A giving-rate tally tracks aggregate charitable-contribution data by region and demographic; a volunteering study codes a defined sample against a fixed protocol, with inter-rater reliability reported. Each metric measures one specific thing, a rate, a count, or a modeled score, never belief or motivation.
Correlation, not causation
Where a pattern relates to an outcome, reports write "was associated with" or "coincided with," never "caused." Where cited authors state explicitly that they make no causal claim, that posture is preserved.
Aggregates only
Every number is a share, count, rate, or model score, never a claim about an individual. Covenant Research does not profile private persons, and aggregates use minimum-cell suppression so no individual is identifiable.
Uncertainty, disclosed
Sample sizes, confidence intervals, and contested framings are carried into the prose. Where an attribute is model-inferred it is treated as probabilistic, and a low-confidence result is shown as undetermined rather than guessed.
The values reading
Each report includes a brief, clearly fenced section that offers a constructive reading of the findings through a Christian lens. This section names the measured good and the Christian teaching that speaks to it. It is clearly labeled as commentary, distinct from the descriptive evidence sections, and it never attacks, assigns blame, or enters contested civic debates.