One-sentence brief
Without provenance, a polished output cannot be audited, reproduced, corrected, or distinguished from a stale or fabricated result.
SIMULATION LITERACY
A traceable chain from source data and transformations to model version, scenario inputs, output, correction, and supersession.
ORIENTATION
Without provenance, a polished output cannot be audited, reproduced, corrected, or distinguished from a stale or fabricated result.
WORKING BRIEF
Record publisher, document or dataset title, version, date, geography, collection method, license, and retrieval state. A filename or institutional reference does not by itself authenticate authorship.
Cleaning, geocoding, imputation, aggregation, translation, normalization, and feature engineering can change meaning. Each step should be versioned and reversible where practical.
Boundary conditions, transition rules, priors, thresholds, missing-data treatments, and behavioral rules should be listed as inputs.
A result needs a model version, code or rule digest, dataset version, scenario identifier, seed where relevant, and issue time.
When source data or assumptions change, every derivative chart, narrative, public route, and decision record should be identified and reviewed.
Provenance does not justify collecting unnecessary personal data. Use aggregate or synthetic information when it answers the question, minimize retention, and separate identity from behavioral inference.
COMPLETE DOSSIER
Terms are defined for this site’s evidence method, not as universal legal or clinical definitions.
RESEARCH EDITION
This page follows the public method for provenance, confidence, source independence, alternative accounts, limitations, review state, and visible correction.
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