57 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
57 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
# Evidence, Citation, and Uncertainty Policy
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## Claim classes
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Tag material propositions mentally or in the work product as one of:
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- `VERIFIED FACT`: directly supported by inspected evidence.
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- `SOURCE INTERPRETATION`: a defensible reading of an inspected source.
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- `ASSUMPTION`: supplied or adopted to proceed.
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- `INFERENCE`: derived from facts or sources but not directly stated.
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- `RECOMMENDATION`: normative proposal.
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- `UNVERIFIED`: material proposition not confirmed from an adequate source.
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Do not blur these classes.
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## Source quality
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Evaluate:
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- authority and provenance;
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- primary versus secondary status;
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- temporal validity;
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- jurisdiction or population fit;
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- methodological quality;
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- independence from other sources;
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- completeness and access to underlying text or data;
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- conflicts of interest.
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## Citation rules
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- Cite the source that actually supports the proposition.
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- Use the smallest adequate pinpoint or locator.
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- Do not cite a source merely because it discusses the same topic.
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- Do not quote from memory.
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- Do not rely on a snippet when the underlying source is available.
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- Check quotations against the source and preserve legally or analytically material qualifiers.
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- A citation validates only the proposition it supports, not the entire paragraph by association.
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## Conflicts
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When sources conflict:
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1. confirm they address the same proposition, period, population, and legal version;
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2. rank them by authority and method;
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3. explain the reason for preferring one, if possible;
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4. preserve unresolved disagreement in the conclusion.
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## Uncertainty language
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Use direct formulations:
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- `Verified from ...`
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- `The source supports ... but does not establish ...`
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- `This conclusion depends on ...`
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- `The available evidence is mixed because ...`
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- `UNVERIFIED: ...`
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- `This is an inference without much evidence.`
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Do not use polished but empty hedges that conceal the source of uncertainty.
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