Research Integrity
Truth and honesty are the method, not decoration.
Truth
The preferred family conclusion never outranks the historical record.
Honesty
Unknowns, contradictions and failed searches are disclosed rather than smoothed over.
Evidence
Material claims point to a source, archive reference, image provenance or clearly labelled testimony.
Lineage
Family memory is preserved with reverence and tested independently before becoming fact.
State each material fact once at its most relevant point; link elsewhere rather than repeat it. Brevity must never remove a material qualification, source or uncertainty.
The five-status rule
Verified means supported by primary/official evidence in hand.
Independently corroborated means supported by credible independent evidence, even if the ideal primary record is still outstanding.
Family account means the tradition is preserved faithfully but is yet to be independently verified.
Research hypothesis means a reasoned lead being tested. It must never be promoted into a finding without corroboration.
Unresolved marks chronology conflicts, competing versions or evidence that presently does not fit together.
Archival transparency
Exact references are published when known; otherwise the missing file/register number is stated. Scans should preserve the finding-aid entry, record heading/file cover and relevant folio with context.
Corrections
New primary evidence may strengthen, weaken or overturn a hypothesis. Material changes are dated; earlier research states remain recoverable.