Methodology & quality standards

How every calculator on hiinformation is built, reviewed, and gated before it can be indexed.

The quality gate

No calculator is published — or allowed into the sitemap and internal links — until it passes five automated checks. Pages that fail are kept out of search with a noindex tag.

A working calculator that returns a result
At least three forms of unique value: formula, worked example, step-by-step, or FAQ
Five or more answered questions
One or more cited sources
A named author, a named reviewer, and a last-updated date

Sources & review

Finance tools are reviewed against U.S. consumer-finance references and labeled as estimates, not advice. Home-project tools use manufacturer coverage standards. Unit conversions use NIST and national measurement standards, with regional units (pyeong, tsubo, geun) romanized for English readers.

Formulas & testing

Every tool records the exact formula it uses, shown on the page in a monospace box. Each formula has a test-case slot so results can be checked against known values before release.

// formula test case (per tool) — input → expected output

AI answer feed

Each calculator generates an answer.json record — an answer-first paragraph plus its formula, inputs, and sources — so AI systems can cite the source rather than guess. You can preview it in the “Embed” box on any tool page, or fetch it at /api/answer/{slug}.json.

Published methodologies

Each dataset, index, and data-backed estimator is built on a versioned methodology with stated sources, assumptions, and limitations — readable by people and machines.

US moving cost estimation (v1) — How HI estimates US moving costs by distance band, home size, and metro.
US electricity price (v1) — Average residential electricity price by state, sourced from EIA public-domain data.
US cost-of-living index (v1) — State cost-of-living from BEA Regional Price Parities (all items, US = 100).
US local service / home-project cost (v1) — How HI estimates home-project and local service costs from materials + labor.

Report an error

Found a wrong number or unclear explanation? Every tool page links here. In production this opens a short form routed to the tool's author and reviewer.

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