Research methodology
How we research peptide vendors
Every vendor profile on Peptide Signal IQ is built from documented, source-linked evidence. This page explains the rules we follow — so you can judge the work, not just read it.
Source hierarchy#
Not all evidence is equal. Every source cited in a vendor profile is assigned a tier based on how authoritative and verifiable it is:
Authoritative records
Primary government and regulatory records: FDA warning letters and enforcement actions, FTC actions, DOJ cases, court filings and opinions, state attorneys general, secretary of state registrations, and state pharmacy boards.
Official & commercial
The vendor's own official materials, accredited laboratory reports and certificates of analysis, and established commercial databases — useful, but carrying a potential conflict of interest.
Independent indexes
Independent search tools and aggregators such as CourtListener docket searches, domain-registration history, and archived snapshots of vendor websites.
Community reports
Unverified community discussion — forums, social media, and anecdotal reports. Flagged clearly and never presented as established fact.
Read more in Sources & source tiers.
Confidence levels#
Each researched field on a vendor profile carries a confidence rating describing how strongly the evidence supports it:
- High — confirmed by an authoritative (Tier 1) record or by multiple independent sources in agreement.
- Moderate — supported by credible evidence, but from a single source or from sources with potential bias.
- Low — thin, dated, or conflicting evidence; treated as a lead, not a conclusion.
- Unknown — we looked and could not establish the fact. Unknown is a valid result: absence of evidence is not evidence of wrongdoing, and we will not fill gaps with speculation.
Risk severity scale#
Flags on vendor profiles use a simple severity scale based on the seriousness of the underlying evidence:
- High severity — documented regulatory enforcement, such as an FDA warning letter or court judgment.
- Medium severity — material concerns requiring attention, such as unresolved complaints or opaque business identity.
- Low severity — minor inconsistencies or housekeeping issues worth noting.
A flag reports what the evidence says and links to it. It is not a verdict on the vendor.
Update frequency#
Vendor profiles are re-researched on a rolling basis, and material changes — new enforcement actions, ownership changes, significant policy shifts — are published to the changes feed when confirmed. There is no fixed schedule: we update when the evidence changes, not on a calendar.
Corrections#
We make mistakes, and we fix them in the open. If you spot an error or have better evidence, our correction process is documented on the corrections page: every accepted correction becomes an audited observation and appears in the profile's change history.