how the work is done before
market claim.

Purpose and when we say no

Every study starts with one clear choice and a clear public or community benefit. We say no to secret persuasion, unfair exclusion or pricing, targeting that could seriously affect one person, guessing race, uncovering identities, or conclusions chosen in advance.

Participation and consent

Recruitment states the sponsor, purpose, activities, compensation, recording, retention, withdrawal boundary, foreseeable risks, and intended outputs in plain language. Participation never conditions essential services or employment.

Sampling and interpretation

The how the work is done explains who was eligible, who was reached, who participated, who was missed, how participants were compensated, and which populations the proof cannot represent. Black identity is self-described; no one sample stands in for all Black people.

Collect less and protect it

Collect the least private information that can answer the question. Give access only to people who need it. Set a date to delete it. Do not report very small groups. Review results to make sure they cannot expose a person. Contracts must ban attempts to identify or target one person.

• Do not buy or sell files about individual people.
• Do not use faces, bodies, or other physical traits to identify people or guess race.
• Do not collect exact location, health, money, immigration, or relationship information unless the study truly requires it.

Analysis and challenge

Plans distinguish exploratory from confirmatory analysis, document transformations, test competing explanations, and preserve inconvenient results. Claims are calibrated to design, sample, uncertainty, and context.

Publishing the full context

A made public study must show the question, how the work is done, sample, compensation approach, limitations, findings, sources, sponsor or client disclosure, community-value note, date, and correction history. A chart without this context is not a BlackMaxxing Insights result.

Community return and decision rules

The ethics screen asks what participants or affected communities receive: compensation, accessible findings, service or product change, open tools, capacity, or another concrete return. Extractive curiosity is not a sufficient benefit.