How the Dharma Score Works
The complete guide to how scores are calculated, what each category measures, and how methodology versions are managed over time.
How It Works
Submit a Name
Enter a name and optional context — industry, disambiguation notes, or social handles — to focus the research on the right person.
AI-Powered Research
Our system queries public sources in parallel: People Data Labs, Tavily, Exa.ai, GDELT, MusicBrainz, TMDb, and TheSportsDB.
Classification and Sentiment Analysis
AI classifies each source into scoring categories, then performs sentiment analysis across the full source set.
Score Synthesis and Source Attribution
A weighted algorithm combines category scores into a final Dharma Score (0–100). Every contributing source is logged and displayed — no source is excluded.
Your Score with Confidence Level
Receive a score with a High, Medium, or Low confidence level based on source and category coverage.
Scoring Categories
These categories and weights reflect the currently active scoring methodology. See Version History below for past versions.
Volume, range, and quality of completed creative work: discography, filmography, exhibitions, publications, or portfolio; production and authorship credits; significant collaborations; longevity and consistency of output across years.
Engagement with and contributions to the artist's community: philanthropy and mentorship; board roles and organizational leadership; local and regional cultural impact; education, outreach, civic engagement, or service work.
Recognition from peers and institutions: awards, nominations, and honors; endorsements from established figures; critical acclaim from within the creative field; inclusion in juried selections, hall-of-fame entries, or 'best of' lists; invitations to judge or curate.
Visibility within the professional industry: trade-press coverage, festival/conference/panel participation, brand partnerships, professional network reach, speaking engagements, executive or guild affiliations.
How the broader public and general-interest media perceive the individual: overall tone of coverage; sustained interest, praise, or controversy; reputation outside the immediate creative-industry circle. Aggregates per-source sentiment-analysis output plus narrative coverage tone.
Confidence Levels
Confidence reflects the completeness of the data gathered for a given person — not the accuracy of the score itself. Absence of data reduces confidence, not the score.
Sufficient sources (≥10) across sufficient categories (≥4). The score is well-supported by public data.
≥10 sources · ≥4 categories
Moderate sources (5–9) or partial category coverage (3 categories). The score is reasonable but may not capture the full picture.
5–9 sources · ≥3 categories
Limited sources (<5) or very few categories with data (<3). Treat this score as a preliminary indicator.
<5 sources or <3 categories
Methodology Version History
Client v1 taxonomy: peer_recognition, body_of_work, community_impact, industry_presence, public_perception (weights 25/25/20/15/15).
▶ Show category breakdown▼ Hide category breakdown
| Category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Body of Work | 25% |
| Community Impact | 20% |
| Peer Recognition | 25% |
| Industry Presence | 15% |
| Public Perception | 15% |
Ready to see your score?
Dharma Score uses AI-powered research across public sources to give you a transparent, explainable cultural impact score.