The method
- Record each document’s title, authors, identifier and address. Separate the repository’s displayed date from the document date. When a version label is absent, preserve that absence rather than assigning your own number.
- Look for the relationship explicitly stated between documents and its direction. Then compare the research question, scope and passages you intend to cite. Similar titles alone do not establish identical conclusions.
- Choose the version matching your purpose and explain that choice in the reference. Keep corrections or reservations beside the excerpt used. A new version calls for rereading decisive passages, not merely replacing an address in your notes.
Your recording grid
Use these columns to keep information about your own project. The sheet is blank; you can print it and fill it in.
Fictional worked example
In a fictional example, two files have the same title while a third adds a dataset. The notebook describes all three documents and their available links. You can cite the version actually read without claiming that the others contain the same analysis or received the same review.
The record to keep
Keep one row per version, its identifiers and the cited passages. Record your reading date to recover the exact context of your synthesis.
What this method can establish
Connecting versions establishes neither study quality nor a particular review process. A missing metadata link does not prove that no relationship exists.
Supporting documentation
Documentation consulted on
An editorial method, a fictional example and references for further reading.