Share
The catalog/Background

By the Numbers

The key figures on a subject, sourced and dated, with the ones to read carefully marked.

2 credits·in-depth·about 2–4 min·12 domains

What it answers

The question By the Numbers is built for

Name the subject. It leads with the headline number, lays out the figures that matter with their sources and dates, sets comparisons beside them, flags the numbers that need care, and reads where the numbers point.

Who reaches for it

Anyone who needs the numbers before the meeting, and wants to know which of them are solid.

What comes back

8 sections, on every run

These are the headings the result renders, read from the same promise the form makes before you spend a credit. A section that depends on what the record holds is rendered when it can be and never promised here.

01

Headline number

02

Brief

03

The Numbers

04

Comparisons

05

Read With Care

06

Where the Numbers Point

07

Bottom line

08

Open Questions

What you give it

2 boxes, 1 required

Subject to put numbers on
required · up to 300 characters
Focus / scope
optional · up to 600 characters
Try it on: a subject you already hold an opinion about, so you can grade the result against what you know. Each one opens the form filled, in the General domain.
SIPRI's global arms trade, by the numbers
What it will not do

The lines it holds

A figure without a source does not appear. It does not forecast the series, and two figures that disagree are shown as a spread with both issuers named, never averaged into one.

Every claim carries its grade

A claim the scan could not source is marked as such rather than dressed up. How the grades work →

Verified or grounded
Reported or attributed
Contested
Open question
Where it runs

Available in 12 domains

A domain may name it in its own words and price it on its own terms; each row is what that domain shows.

General2 creditsDefense2 creditsFinance2 creditsEnergy2 creditsHealth2 creditsPolicy2 creditsTechnology2 creditsClimate2 creditsLearning2 creditsSports2 creditsTravel2 creditsLifestyle2 credits
See one

Research already published as By the Numbers

Cost Growth and Risk by Defense Contract Type

Read the research →

Boeing has recorded roughly $8 billion in cumulative losses on the KC-46 tanker program alone, per company disclosures through the fourth quarter of 2025 — the clearest documented case of fixed-price risk transfer failing to…

Defense · September 24, 2026

Enterprise AI Adoption vs Earnings Impact Gap

Read the research →

88% of organizations use AI in at least one business function (Stanford HAI AI Index 2026 / McKinsey), but only 6% attribute 5%+ of EBIT to AI with significant impact — a 82-point gap between adoption and monetization.

Technology · September 20, 2026

Teacher Attrition, Prep-Program Production, and the Pay Penalty

Read the research →

Teachers earned 74.8 cents on the dollar in 2025 versus comparable college graduates (a 25.2% pay penalty) — EPI/CEPR, August 2026 — while prep-program completions have fallen from ~214,000 to ~160,000 a year since 2010-11.

Learning · September 16, 2026
Roles that lean on it

8 role guides suggest it

Data journalistlead scanMarket research directorCity / state policy managerTrade association research directorFinancial newsletter writerResearch editor, trade publicationEducation policy researcherHealthcare workforce planner
Try it

Run By the Numbers on something you already know

The fastest way to judge the result is to pick a subject you know cold and read it against what you know. The scan names its credit cost before it runs.

Start with By the Numbers →Plans and credit packs
More in the catalog

Other research in background

ChronologyHow a situation developed, phase by phase, with the turning points marked.Follow the MoneyWho pays, who profits, and through what channels, with the total at stake.Key PlayersThe people and organizations that matter on an issue, and how they line up.How It WorksHow a system or process actually works: the inputs, the steps, the parts, and where it breaks.Why It ChangedWhy a published number actually moved, after checking whether the counting changed first.The whole catalog →