01
Method
From a question to a revisable finding.
A study begins with a limited question, works through records and competing explanations, and makes a finding with stated limits. Sources, observations, interpretations and permissions stay distinct so a reader can see how a conclusion was reached and what could change it.
Six working steps
Make the reasoning available.
02
Record the conditions.
Identify sources, observers, materials, process conditions, failures and gaps. Separate what is recorded from what is inferred; making experience alone cannot recover a historical intention.03
Compare explanations.
State which conditions are shared and which differ. Look for a record or counterexample that could change the first interpretation; a case cannot stand for a whole tradition.04
Make a bounded finding.
Answer the local question with reasoning, support and limits. Distinguish a process observation, an interpretation of expression and a claim that still needs checking.05
Name what could change it.
Identify the evidence or counterexample that would make the finding untenable. Give another reader a way to examine the reasoning.06
Keep the revision visible.
Record the earlier judgement, new support and scope of a change, including affected language versions. A lasting inquiry should still produce examinable progress.Sources and consent
Trace the evidence. Respect the people.
Is it reliable?
Facts must be traceable to a source that directly supports them. Interpretation stays identified as interpretation.
Are contributions respected?
Permission, attribution and privacy must be respected when using words, images, names or recordings.