Costelloe Group is an independent interdisciplinary lab that tests questions through evidence based research. We assemble qualified researchers and subject-matter experts around each project, then use appropriate methods to find out what the evidence supports. The subject matter can vary. The standard of evidence does not.
MISSION
Important problems deserve evidence that can inform real decisions. Our research crosses disciplines to produce trustworthy findings and make them clear and useful.
The work is organized around the subject at hand, not academic or industry boundaries. Each study brings together the researchers and specialists it requires, drawing from STEM, social and behavioral science, language, technology, policy, the humanities, and beyond.
Promising ideas are pursued with curiosity and tested with rigor. Evidence is distinguished from interpretation, and hypotheses from established findings. Speculation, hype, and pseudoscience are never presented as evidence.
The goal is knowledge people can understand, scrutinize, build on, and use.
A project may begin with a hypothesis, an unanswered question, an emerging problem, or an assumption worth testing.
We start by defining the research question and determining what evidence would meaningfully address it. We then select an appropriate research design, assemble the relevant expertise, conduct the study, analyze and validate the evidence, and communicate what we find, including uncertainties, limitations, and alternative explanations.
Methods are chosen to fit the question and may include:
Exploratory and experimental studies
Focus groups, interviews, and qualitative research
Behavioral and linguistic analysis
Human and AI research
Literature, systematic, and evidence reviews
Applied technology, prototype, and methodology testing
Data collection, analysis, replication, and validation
No single method defines the lab. The standard is whether the approach is appropriate to the question, rigorous enough to support the conclusions, and transparent about what the evidence can and cannot establish.
HOW WE WORK
We collaborate with organizations, researchers, funders, practitioners, and subject matter experts who want to investigate meaningful questions and produce trustworthy evidence.
Projects may originate within the lab, through sponsored or commissioned research, or with a partner seeking an independent investigation. Collaborations can range from focused studies and expert contributions to interdisciplinary research programs involving multiple organizations and fields.
We are open to unconventional questions when they can be investigated with sound methods, appropriate expertise, and a genuine willingness to follow the evidence. We do not accept predetermined conclusions or design research to produce a preferred result.
If you have a question worth investigating, tell us what you want to understand, why it matters, and how you would like to be involved.
WORK WITH US
Every project is grounded in established research methods and relevant domain expertise. We document the question, methods, evidence, uncertainty, and limitations so others can understand how conclusions were reached.
Our findings undergo appropriate expert review and methodological scrutiny. When a study is intended for academic publication, we pursue independent peer review through suitable scholarly channels. Exploratory, proprietary, or commissioned work may follow a different review path, which we describe accurately.
We distinguish hypotheses from exploratory findings and established evidence. The purpose of a study is to test an idea, not to guarantee a preferred result. Funding does not determine findings.
RESEARCH STANDARDS
Every project is built around the question being studied. We assemble a team suited to that question instead of fitting the work to a fixed staff.
Researchers and subject-matter experts are independently contracted for their expertise and engaged for each project's scope and timeline. This lets us bring the right specialists to each study, whether it calls for behavioral science, linguistics, technology, health, policy, or another field, and add or change expertise as the work develops.
Where a study involves people, health-related questions, or sensitive data, its design includes the relevant expertise and appropriate ethical and legal safeguards. These include informed consent, data protection, and independent ethical review where required. Every contributor works under the lab's research standards and confidentiality terms.
Advisory Board
We are currently assembling an advisory board of senior researchers and practitioners across disciplines. Our advisory board brings senior perspective from across research, industry, and practice. Advisors help shape the lab's research agenda, review methods and study designs, and hold the lab to its standards of rigor and independence.
The advisory board is separate from project teams. Advisors provide guidance and oversight; they do not direct research outcomes or approve findings. Conclusions follow the evidence.
PROJECT TEAMS AND SAFEGUARDS
We welcome funding for exploratory research, well-defined studies, pilot programs, and early-stage investigations. Funders may support a question developed by the lab, propose a question for independent investigation, or collaborate with us on a larger research program.
Funding may support:
Independent studies and exploratory investigations
Pilot studies, replication, and validation
Product, technology, and methodology testing
Interdisciplinary research teams
Data collection, analysis, and expert review
Research prepared for publication when appropriate
Sponsored and Commissioned Research
Supports a question worth investigating. Commissioned research begins with a specific question, problem, technology, or claim that an organization wants examined.
In either case, the research question, scope, methods, responsibilities, review process, reporting, and publication terms are established before the work begins. Funding may determine what question is studied, but it does not determine what the research concludes.
We report findings according to the evidence, including results that are unexpected, inconclusive, or contrary to the original hypothesis. Material limitations and relevant conflicts of interest are disclosed when appropriate.