So, here’s how it all started.
A member of our team spent a considerable amount of years working for a large publisher in the firearms space before joining our team.
The other day, he walked up to me and said:
“Mark, don’t we have an editorial guidelines document up anywhere on the site?”
And I realized, that… indeed we didn’t.
It just wasn’t something I had thought about when we first started building up this site.
So I asked him to draft one up real quick. Made some corrections.
And here it is.
Now, it might be a little boring for you, reading through all that stuff below.
I promise we’ll make it more interesting to read with the next iteration. All with gifs and humor, just like you guys love it.
But for now – just know that these editorial guidelines are as much internal, as they are external.
Meaning that –
This document is also there for us to keep ourselves in check, and to make sure that we’re doing the good work that we set out to do.
It’s like a codex for our website, of sorts. Guiding everything that we do on this side of the screen.
So that if anyone on the team sees something going against the points laid out below, they can speak up so that we correct the course.
Anyway, enough mumbo jumbo from me.
Here’s a little overview of how we work, and what we believe in.
Let’s get started.
Importance of editorial process in firearms-related product reviews
In short, you want to be sure that the products you purchase are reliable and effective.
That’s why it’s important for us – the looserounds.com team – to have a rigorous editorial process when reviewing products.
Our reviews are designed to give you a comprehensive understanding of a product’s features, performance, and reliability.
So that you can make an informed buying decision.
Easy as that.
The purpose of this page is to explain the editorial process at Looserounds.
We will cover the importance of:
- Research
- Testing
- Review writing
- Review verification
- Editorial oversight
- And transparency in the product review process
By the end of this article, you will understand how our reviews are written, why you can trust us, and how our editorial process sets us apart from other firearms publishers.
Research
Importance of thorough research in product evaluation
Before reviewing a product, we conduct thorough research to understand its features, benefits, and drawbacks.
This research is crucial because it allows us to evaluate a product in the context of its intended use.
Without research, we risk missing important details that could affect our review and ultimately harm your purchasing decisions.
Factors we consider during research
When researching a product, we consider several factors that affect its effectiveness, including:
Product specifications
Understanding a product’s specifications helps us understand its capabilities and limitations.
We consider factors like caliber, barrel length, weight, and capacity to get a comprehensive understanding of the product.
Or in the case of holsters – retention, price, security, material, adjustability, etc. – thinking about all that stuff so that you don’t have to.
Manufacturer’s reputation and history
We consider a manufacturer’s reputation and history to understand their expertise, reliability, and commitment to quality.
Have they been in business for 10 years, or was the company registered last year and offering a dubious Chinese knock-off product?
One of the many things we check.
Our in-house testing results
At Looserounds, we conduct our own in-house testing to evaluate a product’s effectiveness. We’ll cover this in more detail in the next section.
Testing
Explanation of the testing process
To ensure that our reviews are accurate and trustworthy, we conduct rigorous testing on all products we review.
Our testing process includes multiple rounds of testing, often over several weeks, to ensure that our results are consistent and reliable.
Criteria used to determine product effectiveness
We use several criteria to determine a product’s effectiveness, including accuracy, reliability, ease of use, and overall performance.
These criteria help us evaluate the product in the context of its intended use, allowing us to provide readers with accurate and helpful information.
Review Writing
Structure of product reviews
Our product reviews follow a standard structure, which includes a product description, performance evaluation, reliability assessment, and overall impressions.
Product Description
We begin our review with a detailed product description, including its features, benefits, and limitations.
Performance evaluation
We evaluate a product’s performance based on our testing criteria, providing readers with an accurate understanding of its capabilities.
Reliability
We assess a product’s reliability based on its performance over multiple rounds of testing, ensuring that readers have a clear understanding of its durability and consistency.
Overall impressions
We conclude our review with our overall impressions of the product, including its strengths, weaknesses, and suitability for different applications.
Importance of clear and concise writing
Clear and concise writing is crucial in product reviews.
That’s so that you can quickly and easily understand the product’s features and performance.
That’s why we always write in a conversational tone and use short sentences and paragraphs, making our reviews easy to read and understand.
Capisce?
Review Verification
Importance of verifying review accuracy
We take accuracy seriously.
We want you to trust our reviews and rely on them when making purchasing decisions.
That’s why we have a thorough review verification process in place.
Steps we take to ensure review accuracy
To ensure the accuracy of our reviews, we take several steps, including:
Fact-checking
We fact-check all information in our reviews to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. This includes checking manufacturer specifications, product descriptions, and other relevant information.
Verifying test results
We verify our test results to ensure that they are accurate and consistent. This involves conducting multiple rounds of testing and using multiple testers to ensure that our results are reliable.
Avoiding bias
We work hard to avoid bias in our reviews.
We strive to be objective and provide you with an accurate understanding of a product’s features, benefits, and drawbacks.
We also avoid conflicts of interest, ensuring that our reviews are unbiased and trustworthy.
Editorial Oversight
Importance of editorial oversight in product reviews
Editorial oversight is essential in ensuring that our reviews are accurate, objective, and trustworthy.
Our editors provide an additional layer of scrutiny, ensuring that our reviews are well-researched, fact-checked, and free from bias.
How editorial team ensures objectivity
To ensure objectivity in our reviews, our editorial team takes several steps, including:
Avoiding conflicts of interest
We avoid conflicts of interest by disclosing any relationships we have with manufacturers or other industry players. This includes any funding or support we receive from these sources.
Eliminating bias
We work hard to eliminate bias from our reviews. We strive to provide readers with an objective assessment of a product’s features, benefits, and drawbacks. This involves using a standardized testing process and avoiding personal opinions and preferences.
Transparency
Importance of transparency in product reviews
Transparency is crucial in ensuring that our readers trust our reviews. By being transparent about our processes, funding sources, and potential biases, we demonstrate our commitment to accuracy and objectivity.
Steps taken to ensure transparency
To ensure transparency, we take several steps, including:
Disclosing funding sources
We disclose any funding or support we receive from manufacturers or other industry players, ensuring that our readers understand our potential biases.
Avoiding conflicts of interest
We avoid conflicts of interest by disclosing any relationships we have with manufacturers or other industry players. This includes affiliate relationships that we have. This ensures that our reviews are unbiased and trustworthy.
Conclusion
Summary of key points
At Looserounds, we take our editorial process seriously. We conduct thorough research, rigorous testing, and have an editorial team that ensures accuracy, objectivity, and transparency.
We want you to trust our reviews and rely on our website as a source of accurate and trustworthy information.
Thanks for reading!