Methodology
How rankings are made.
Editors, written criteria, public registers, and a dated “How we chose” note on every list.
What a ranking is
A JaRanks ranking is a short, ordered editorial list for one service in one place, for example “Best Dermatologists in Kingston”. It is a starting shortlist, not a league table. Each entry links to a profile where you can see the provider’s verification status and contact details.
How items are ordered
An editor orders every list against the same criteria, in this priority:
- Register status. Providers matched to the relevant official register (for example the Medical Council of Jamaica or the Real Estate Board) rank above those who are only Listed.
- Evidence of specialisation. Qualifications, hospital or firm affiliations and years in practice that can be traced to a public source.
- Public track record. Published work, professional body roles, and any public disciplinary record. We do not use anonymous online reviews.
- Reachability. A working phone, a real address, and hours we could confirm.
- Editorial judgement. Where the above does not separate two providers, the editor decides and says why in “How we chose”.
Votes from the earlier version of JaRanks no longer affect order. Legacy popularity is used only to decide which rankings appear on the home page.
Verification levels
Every profile carries one of three labels.
- Listed
- Carried over from the earlier JaRanks database or added from a public directory. Not yet matched to a register. Treat contact details as a lead, not a confirmation.
- Verified against register
- We found the provider in an official register or licence list and stored a deep link to the entry, the registration number where the register shows one, and the date we checked. The stamp under the fact shows all three.
- Provider confirmed
- The provider confirmed their own details with us by email from a traceable address. This confirms contact details; it does not replace a register match and never changes rank.
What never happens
- No provider pays for inclusion, position or removal of a competitor.
- No sponsored entries. There is no advertising on JaRanks.
- No invented facts. A field we cannot source is left empty.
- No scraped descriptions. Text is written by our editors.
Review and dating
Each ranking shows an “Updated” date, which is the last editorial review. Register matches show their own “checked” date. We re-check registers on a rolling basis and whenever a correction is reported.
Correction policy
Anyone can report an error through the contact page. We acknowledge within three business days. Factual corrections (a lapsed licence, a wrong number, a moved office) are made as soon as we can verify them against a source, and the page’s dates update. Requests to change a rank are handled by an editor who did not write the list and are judged only on the criteria above.