METHODS, DATA & ETHICS

Methods, Data & Ethics

This is not a legal disclaimer, but a statement of the principles actually followed in case observation and data handling. If you are considering whether to participate in cases or long-term follow-up, this is the page to read first.

Research Nature and Scope
Important: WCAT and CMC are currently open theoretical frameworks and working hypotheses. They do not constitute medical, psychological diagnostic, or therapeutic advice.

The WCAT Open Research Project focuses on experiential structures, action patterns, meaning generation, and subject change — not on pathologizing individuals.

All cases, scales, interviews, and dream records are used to observe the processes of change in volition, meaning, subject structure, and experiential worlds. Any interpretation should be regarded as a provisional observation, not a final conclusion.

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Does not provide psychological diagnoses, and does not substitute for psychological counseling, psychiatric services, or medical advice.
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Does not promise any individual change outcomes, and does not treat case participation as an intervention.
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Does not use a single case as theoretical proof; all case interpretations are provisional observations.
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Does not reduce participants' experiences to fixed labels.
Data Sources

Current data come primarily from the following sources. Different sources vary in reliability, completeness, and interpretive force, and are not treated as equivalent.

Anonymous Case Submissions
Experiences, difficulties, change processes, and self-observations submitted voluntarily by participants.
Scale Completion
Used for preliminary observation of structural variables, action resistance, meaning stability, and change phases.
Long-term Follow-up Records
Periodic recording of action, relationships, dreams, emotional states, and identity changes.
Interviews and Written Records
Open-ended interviews or written questions supplementing the timeline and structural context of cases.
Dream Observations
Recording of tension, coping patterns, symbolic objects, and structural change signals in dreams.
AI Collaboration Experiment Records
Observing structural changes in different subject structures during AI dialogue, writing, or decision support.
Data Processing Pipeline

Cases are not treated as direct theoretical proof. Complete raw records are stored only on the researcher's local machine or private database. What is publicly displayed is only derived information that has been anonymized, restructured, and appropriately modified.

Raw Layer — Participant narratives, open-ended responses, scales, interviews, dreams, or phase records
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Anonymization — Removing identifying information, replacing with codes, age ranges, and general descriptions
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Structural Coding — Annotating action resistance, meaning state, emotion objectification, attractor lock-in, and related elements
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Interpretation & Comparison — Restructuring narratives and comparing across cases
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Public Layer — Anonymized summaries, structural encodings, and revisable working hypotheses
Core Commitments
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Raw data will not be made public, nor will it enter any public website or code repository.
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Public content may be anonymized, restructured, and appropriately modified — it is not verbatim.
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Cases are used primarily for structural observation and do not constitute diagnoses.
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All content is not for commercial sale.
Anonymization Methods
  • No real names or nicknames that could be linked to real identities; only codes are used
  • Exact birth years replaced with age ranges; specific cities replaced with broad regions
  • Verbatim records are not published; what is made public is a researcher-rewritten summary
  • Structural encoding values (e.g., E1–E8) carry no narrative content and cannot be used to identify individuals
Your Rights
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Withdraw at any time: All participation is voluntary. You may withdraw at any time and for any reason.
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Request deletion: You may request deletion of your data at any time, including already anonymized derived information.
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Know how your data is used: You have the right to know how your data will be used and whether it will be publicly displayed.
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No agreement required: Participation does not imply agreement with any claim made by WCAT. Skeptics and critics are equally protected by these rights.
Research Ethics Principles
Openness Challengeability Revisability Falsifiability

If you have any questions about data handling, feel free to ask directly via the Contact page.