Indonesia Now aims to provide useful, accurate, and clearly explained information about destinations, travel, food, and culture across Indonesia. Our Research Standards describe how we select sources, check information, and communicate the limits of what we know.
These standards apply to our articles, destination guides, comparisons, maps, and planning tools. They should be read alongside our Editorial Policy and Corrections Policy.
Starting with the Reader’s Question
Research begins with the question a piece of content is intended to answer. A guide to reaching a destination, for example, should identify the starting point, available choices, and details readers need to check. A cultural article should explain its subject in the context of the relevant place and community.
We consider what evidence is needed, which details may change, and whether a topic can be covered meaningfully with the information available. We may postpone or narrow a guide if important facts cannot be supported.
Choosing and Evaluating Sources
We use sources appropriate to each subject. Depending on the topic, these may include:
- Government agencies and official information services.
- Transport operators, airports, ports, and destination managers.
- Museums, cultural institutions, academic research, and published reference works.
- Local communities, practitioners, guides, and other people with relevant knowledge.
- Original documents, interviews, and firsthand observations where available.
We consider who produced a source, its expertise or authority for the specific claim, its date, geographical scope, possible interests, and whether the underlying information can be checked. An official source may be the best starting point for an official rule, but it may not answer every question about local experience or cultural interpretation.
Where practical, we seek the original source of a claim and compare important details with other reliable information. We distinguish firsthand evidence from secondary reporting, commentary, and promotional material. When sources conflict, we assess their scope and timing and explain unresolved differences where relevant.
Travel Rules and Practical Details
Information about entry procedures, transportation, prices, schedules, opening hours, and destination access can change. We aim to check important details against the responsible authority or service provider, paying attention to the date, location, and people or circumstances to which the information applies.
Where useful, we identify what was checked and when. A date attached to one item does not mean every statement on the page was independently verified on that date. If a significant detail cannot be confirmed, we may identify the uncertainty, omit the claim, or temporarily remove the affected information.
Readers should confirm current requirements and arrangements directly before booking or traveling. Our guides provide general information and do not replace instructions from the relevant authority or provider.
Local Knowledge and Cultural Context
Local knowledge can help explain how a place or practice is experienced. We consider the source’s relationship to the subject and seek additional perspectives where appropriate. An individual’s account is presented as that person’s perspective, not automatically as the view of an entire community.
For cultural and historical topics, we distinguish evidence from interpretation, oral tradition, and disputed claims. We aim to respect local terminology, acknowledge regional variation, and avoid stereotypes or descriptions that remove a practice from its context.
Firsthand Research and Reviews
When we describe a visit, interview, observation, or product test, it should reflect work that actually took place. Where relevant, we explain the circumstances and date, as well as limitations that affect how widely the observation can be applied.
Published sources and other people’s accounts can be useful, but they are not presented as our own firsthand experience. A location, accommodation, tour, or service should not be described as personally tested solely because information about it was researched online.
Prices, Calculations, and Tools
When presenting a cost estimate, we aim to identify the currency, unit, date, source or method, and relevant conditions. For example, a price may apply per person, per room, per vehicle, or per night. A limited sample is not presented as a guaranteed or universal price.
Planning tools should explain their inputs, calculation method, assumptions, and important exclusions. We aim to check calculations against representative examples and review reported problems. Where a tool relies on third-party data, the source, timing, and limitations should be clear where relevant.
Citations and Use of Materials
We provide source links or attribution where they help readers check a claim or where a license or permission requires them. We aim to use images, maps, quotations, and datasets in accordance with their applicable rights and conditions. See our Image & Data Credits page for more information.
We do not knowingly invent citations, quotations, interviews, or statistics. AI tools may assist with research organization, but their output is not treated as a verified source. Human review and source checking remain necessary under our AI Policy.
Review, Updates, and Corrections
We prioritize review according to the likelihood that information will change and the potential effect on readers. A significant safety or access concern may require more urgent attention than a stable historical description. Review timing can vary, and information may change between checks.
When a material error is confirmed, we aim to correct it promptly and explain the correction on the affected page. Updates made because circumstances changed are distinguished from corrections to information that was wrong when published. See our Corrections Policy for details.
Questions and Feedback
If you have a question about our research or notice a possible error, please contact us through the website’s contact page. Include the relevant page and, where possible, a source or explanation that will help us review the issue.
We may revise these standards as our research methods and resources develop. Our aim is to make both the information we publish and its limitations easier for readers to understand.