Evidence Engine — BOX 4
Peer-Reviewed Evidence
The highest tier of evidence. Academic studies with controlled methodology, peer review, and reproducible results. The foundation of everything we recommend.
BOX 4 criteria
To qualify for BOX 4, evidence must meet all of these standards:
Published in peer-reviewed academic journal or conference
Controlled methodology with clear variables
Reproducible by independent researchers
Sample size sufficient for statistical significance
Potential conflicts of interest disclosed
Key BOX 4 studies
Princeton GEO Study
Princeton University · 2024
- →81% correlation between Schema markup and AI citation
- →3.7× citation lift with structured markup implementation
- →+40% visibility boost with expertise signals (citations, statistics)
- →First rigorous academic analysis of generative engine optimization
RAG Retrieval Quality Research
MIT CSAIL · 2024
- →Embedding quality directly impacts retrieval accuracy
- →Chunk size optimization affects answer quality
- →Source diversity improves answer reliability
LLM Citation Behavior Analysis
Stanford HAI · 2023
- →Domain authority correlates with citation frequency
- →Recency signals influence source selection
- →Format and structure affect extractability
Key BOX 4 claims we use
81% Schema-citation correlation
Princeton GEOImplication: Schema implementation is foundational, not optional
3.7× markup lift
Princeton GEOImplication: Structured data provides nearly 4× visibility advantage
+40% expertise visibility
Princeton GEOImplication: Statistics, citations, and expert quotes are visibility multipliers
Limitations of BOX 4 evidence
Even peer-reviewed research has constraints:
⚠Studies reflect conditions at time of research — AI platforms evolve
⚠Academic timelines lag real-world changes
⚠Controlled conditions may not reflect production complexity
⚠Sample queries may not represent all industries