Research notes
Follow the record, then check the interpretation.
When researching a case, begin with the earliest source you can identify. Record its title, date, author or issuing body, and the reference needed to find it again. Save the context as carefully as the striking sentence or image.
Ask what kind of record you are reading. A file may preserve an observation, correspondence or an investigation. Its existence alone does not settle whether every account inside it is accurate.
Keep a separate note of later interpretations. If an article makes a stronger claim than its underlying source, identify the extra evidence needed to support that step. Where records disagree, make that disagreement visible.
Our aim is to help readers follow the same trail and assess the material for themselves. A useful research note explains both what a source contributes and what it cannot establish. Explore the Australian records desk
Ask what kind of record you are reading. A file may preserve an observation, correspondence or an investigation. Its existence alone does not settle whether every account inside it is accurate.
Keep a separate note of later interpretations. If an article makes a stronger claim than its underlying source, identify the extra evidence needed to support that step. Where records disagree, make that disagreement visible.
Our aim is to help readers follow the same trail and assess the material for themselves. A useful research note explains both what a source contributes and what it cannot establish. Explore the Australian records desk