Source Verification
Confirm that cited material remains available, authoritative and accurately represented. Record the date of verification.
Phase 9 · Record Integrity
SOURCE VERIFICATION, CORRECTIONS & RECORD MAINTENANCE
A historical record should show not only what it says, but when it was verified, what changed, and why.
This standard governs how Memory, Record & Republic handles source verification, corrections, later developments and superseded material. Corrections should improve the record without erasing its history.
Maintenance Standard
Preserve the record. Document the change.
Corrections
Identify the original statement, the corrected statement, the reason for the correction and the supporting source.
Source Changes
Replace broken or superseded links with authoritative equivalents while preserving source provenance whenever possible.
New Evidence or Law
Add later court decisions, official records or reliable evidence as later developments rather than silently rewriting what was known earlier.
Superseded Records
Keep the earlier record accessible and identify the newer record that replaces or materially changes it.
Historical Versions
Preserve meaningful prior versions so readers can understand how the documentary record developed over time.
Required Metadata
Every maintained record should answer these questions
Record current through: What date does this record cover?
Last verified: When were the source and characterization last checked?
Verification status: Is the record verified, pending, updated, corrected, superseded or archived?
Change history: What changed, when, why, and which source supports the change?
Relationship to earlier versions: Does this entry clarify, correct or supersede another record?
No silent rewriting. A factual correction may change the current presentation, but the project should preserve enough history to show that a correction occurred. A later judicial ruling, government report or newly available primary source should be identified according to its actual procedural and evidentiary status.
Correction Categories
Why a record changed matters
Factual Correction
A verifiable factual statement was inaccurate.
Source Correction
A citation, attribution or source link was incorrect or replaced.
Classification Refinement
The evidence remains, but its procedural or evidentiary label requires greater precision.
Clarification
Language is refined to prevent a misleading implication without changing the underlying fact.
Later Development
New law, evidence or official action changes the present understanding or legal consequence.
Link Maintenance
An authoritative source moved or became unavailable and the destination was updated.