The method
- Define the question and period. Record each article’s author, address, publication date and revision date; leave a field blank when its precision is unknown.
- Add one row for each reported event, with its date and the passage describing it. An announcement, a decision and implementation can be three separate events even when a headline groups them together.
- Compare versions covering the same event. Record corrections, original documents and unresolved differences. Several articles repeating one agency report are not several independent confirmations.
Fictional worked example
A fictional article appears on the 12th and is revised on the 14th. It describes an announcement on the 10th and an opening planned for the 20th. Your table retains four dates: announcement, publication, revision and planned milestone. The opening remains “planned” until a source confirms it happened.
The record to keep
Keep addresses, distinct dates and decisive passages, then record your own consultation date. This record lets you revisit the reasoning after another publication.
What this method can establish
A coherent timeline proves neither causation nor the accuracy of every statement. Unconfirmed events should remain explicitly unresolved.
Supporting documentation
Documentation consulted on
An editorial method, a fictional example and references for further reading.