Editorial and research methodology

Every published entry is original VDC Stack.io writing, checked against named sources and approved by a reviewer who did not write it.

Source hierarchy

  1. Published international and national standards (ISO, CSA, CEN, ANSI, ASTM), cited by designation, edition and clause.
  2. Open specifications from standards bodies such as buildingSMART International (IFC, IDS, BCF, bSDD).
  3. Government and institutional guidance, such as the UK BIM Framework guidance or national annexes.
  4. Peer-reviewed research and original historical publications.
  5. Industry guidance and established professional practice, labelled as interpretation.

Encyclopedias and vendor material are used to locate primary sources, not as authorities. Vendor-specific terms are labelled as such, and no software provider is treated as the default authority for general construction terminology.

How each claim is labelled

Every reference on an entry states what it supports and on what basis: an official definition (quoted only where licensing permits), original VDC Stack.io wording based on a standard, a widely accepted professional interpretation, a historical record, or emerging usage. Draft standards are identified as drafts and are never presented as requirements.

Copyright and licensing

Standards text is copyrighted. We do not reproduce definitions from ISO or other paid standards; we explain the concept in our own words and cite the clause so readers can consult the original. We do not copy content or data structures from other dictionaries.

Review and approval

Entries are drafted, reviewed and then published. A reviewer approves each entry before publication, and the reviewer is named on the entry. Public suggestions go into an editorial queue; they never change published content directly.

Use of AI

We use AI tools to help locate sources, compare terminology and prepare first drafts. AI output is never treated as verified: a human editor checks it against the cited sources and a reviewer approves it before publication. Entries with an AI-assisted first draft say so. This follows Google’s published guidance that automated content must be fact-checked and must add value for readers.

Dates and citations

Each entry has a permanent URL and shows when it was first published. The “last substantive update” date changes only when the meaning or sources change, not for typo fixes. Standards-dependent entries are re-reviewed at least every six months, and emerging or contested entries every 90 days.

Corrections

Found an error? Suggest a correction, or email [email protected].