Resource · Body of Knowledge

The eight-domain canon.

The Body of Knowledge is the institution's canonical specification of the field. Eight domains, defined and weighted, against which Practitioner (ADP) and Specialist (ADS) examinations are set. It is the document a credentialed practitioner is presumed to have mastered.

Body of Knowledge · Editions

Two editions, examined separately.

The Practitioner Body of Knowledge is the first edition; the Specialist Body of Knowledge extends and deepens it. Each is reviewed annually by the Methodology Council. The current editions are v1.0, ratified May 2026.

Practitioner BoK: v1.0 · ratified May 2026
Specialist BoK: v1.0 · ratified May 2026
Domains: Eight, in fixed order
Examination: Open biannually

The eight domains

Eight domains, in fixed order.

The Body of Knowledge is organised around eight domains, in the order in which they appear on the examination. The order itself is methodological.

Domain 01

AI Systems and Source Selection

How ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and adjacent systems decide what to surface; retrieval, reranking, and citation weighting.

Domain 02

Entity, Identity, and Resolution

Canonical entity records; identity reconciliation across the graphs AI systems consult; cross-system entity hygiene.

Domain 03

Authority and Citation

The Authority Premium; Tier I, II, III source classification; the Citation Engine; the published Source Register.

Domain 04

Schema and Structured Data

Schema.org application by entity type; FAQPage, HowTo, Article, Product, Service, MedicalBusiness, ProfessionalService schema in practice.

Domain 05

Editorial and Practitioner Voice

Citation-quality content; passage-level citability; credentialed authorship; editorial voice consistency at the institution level.

Domain 06

Behavioural Reinforcement

Review architecture in compliant form; ongoing editorial cultivation; prompt-set instrumentation across systems.

Domain 07

Industry-Specific Practice

Vertical playbook application; regulatory and professional standards in legal, financial, health, real estate, trades, and adjacent practices.

Domain 08

Conduct and the Standard

The Charter; the Standards of Professional Conduct; the conflicts and disclosure rules; the institution's editorial governance.

Examination structure

How the examination is set.

The Practitioner examination (ADP) and the Specialist examination (ADS) draw from the eight domains in fixed proportions.

Practitioner examination (ADP). 100 multiple-choice items across the eight domains plus a 10,000-word case-study response, examined biannually. Domain 8 — Conduct — is pass-required.
Specialist examination (ADS). 150 multiple-choice items at higher depth plus eight case-study items spanning operational and editorial scenarios. Domain 8 is pass-required.
Fellow recognition (ADF). Nomination by two Fellows and ratification by the Methodology Council; not examined but predicated on mastery of the entire canon.
Annual review. The Body of Knowledge is reviewed and amended annually by the Methodology Council; amendments are published in the next Annual.
Conduct adjudication. Conduct breaches are adjudicated by the Standards Committee; Domain 8 is the basis on which suspensions and revocations are decided.