Direct answer
What does source-linked investment research mean?
Source-linked investment research keeps every material factual claim connected to a retrievable source, date, and stated coverage limit. It also distinguishes the source evidence from the researcher’s interpretation and preserves conflicting or missing evidence.
What a source-linked record contains
- Source URL or durable reference
- Publisher and publication date when available
- Retrieval timestamp
- The claim or excerpt supported
- Coverage and reliability limits
- Relationship to the saved thesis
Why it matters
A conclusion becomes reviewable when another person, or your future self, can reopen the evidence and see how it supported the claim. The link is not proof by itself; provenance makes verification possible.
Source quality still requires judgment
Prefer primary filings, official statistics, issuer disclosures, and regulator publications for factual claims. Secondary analysis can add interpretation but may inherit errors or omit context.
Limits
- Links can break or source content can change.
- A primary source may still contain estimates or biased presentation.
- Citation density does not guarantee complete or correct reasoning.
Common questions
Questions about this workflow
Is source-linked research the same as cited research?
It is stricter than adding a bibliography. Material claims should retain a direct relationship to a dated source, plus enough context and limitations to review the conclusion later.
Are primary sources always reliable?
Primary sources are usually best for what an issuer or authority reported, but they can contain estimates, omissions, revisions, or self-interested framing. They still require comparison and judgment.