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Research and verification guide

How to cite this archive

Citations should let another reader locate the same public page, identify the underlying source, distinguish an archive summary from source text, and verify the exact file when a digest is available.

An open blank book, a white source page with a red bookmark and a metal link beside the How to Cite heading and David Medeiros original icon.
Identify the source, exact page or passage, record URL and access date. A matching hash verifies file bytes, not the truth of statements or a legal finding.

Build a citation another reader can check

Start with the document, not a conclusion. These existing tools connect the citation formats below to worked records and their limits.

  1. Follow one record from page to source. Check which words come from the original record and which are the archive author's account.
  2. Use the three source-specific citation examples. Select the matching record; add your own access date and the exact page or passage you used. Do not copy an example as if it describes a different document.
  3. See where a source is reused. Multiple archive pages citing the same file are not independent corroboration.

If the source does not supply an author, date or outcome, say that it is not supplied. A citation identifies what you relied on; it does not turn an allegation into a finding.

Recommended citation formats

Archive page

David Medeiros Public Evidence Archive. “Exact Page Title.” Page URL. Accessed YYYY-MM-DD.

Preserved source file

Source author or agency, if supplied. “Exact Document Title or Source Filename.” Document date, if supplied. David Medeiros Public Evidence Archive, direct file URL. SHA-256: full 64-character digest. Accessed YYYY-MM-DD.

Dataset record

David Medeiros Public Evidence Archive. “Dataset Name,” record ID or row anchor. Dataset URL. Source snapshot date or publication date, if supplied. Accessed YYYY-MM-DD.

Video or image record

Creator, if supplied. “Media Record Title.” Date, if supplied. David Medeiros Public Evidence Archive, permanent media page URL. Source filename and SHA-256 when available. Accessed YYYY-MM-DD.

Corrected or disputed record

Cite the original record and the linked correction, clarification, dispute notice, or response. Include the correction date so later readers can reconstruct the record you relied upon.

What a SHA-256 digest proves

A matching digest shows that the bytes you downloaded match the bytes covered by the published manifest. It does not prove that every statement in the file is accurate, complete, authentic, adjudicated, or legally sufficient.

Quote the source, not the summary

When precision matters, quote and cite the identified source document, page, dataset row, communication, or transcript. Archive summaries are navigation and context aids and may later be clarified or corrected.

Preserve the access date

Include the date you accessed a page. If a page supplies a source date, publication date, last-reviewed date, record ID, filename, or exhibit number, include those fields as well.

Report a citation problem

If a stable URL, source link, filename, digest, date, or attribution appears incorrect, submit the exact page URL and supporting record through the corrections process.

Open the corrections policy