Every grade on this site can be challenged, and the challenges are part of what keeps the grades honest. Three have no standing on this site: who you are, what you sell, and how strongly you feel. One thing does: a study.
What to send
- The page and the grade you think is wrong.
- The study or studies that contradict it: a link, the design (randomized trial, meta-analysis, comparison study), who was studied, what it was compared with, and what it found.
- What you think the grade should be, in one sentence.
Send it to [the address on Who runs this site]. Challenges without a study get a reply, but not a review.
What happens next
| Step | When | Who |
|---|---|---|
| We confirm we received it | Within a week | Editor |
| The study is read against the evidence bar | Within a month | Editor plus one outside reviewer |
| A decision and the reason are written | Within a month | Editor |
| The decision is logged on the page's change log, whether or not the grade changed | Same day as the decision | Editor |
The rules we apply
The same rules as everywhere else on the site:
- A grade moves up only with a new randomized trial or meta-analysis of trials that meets the evidence bar.
- A grade moves down when a strong study contradicts it, even if the old studies still stand.
- Contested findings get a "contested" note rather than a quiet change.
- Correlational studies can change the "why it matters" text but never a grade.
The full evidence bar is on How we grade the evidence.
Challenges so far
| Date | Page | Claim | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| [none yet] |