HCDI Certified Indexer
Chapter 2. Provenance and traceability
Source note
Source basis - S2, physical PDF page 7.
general professional knowledge; HCDI platform rule (Unit 2.3). Provenance is where a piece of evidence came from and how it reached you. Traceability is the ability to follow a conclusion back to the evidence behind it. A fact that cannot be traced is only an assertion. The platform builds traceability into the upload. An upload names the indicator the document evidences, the date the document speaks from, a factual description and, on a two-party engagement, the party. The link is fixed at upload, and there is no "move". Client-entered text is shown as typed and never translated, which preserves what the source actually said.
Evidence Check. Before you upload, ask whether someone else could take your description and the file and arrive at the same place. If not, the description is not yet factual.
Traceability reveals circular support
Basis - general professional knowledge and editorial explanation. External references are identified explicitly; this section adds no HCDI rule.
A chain of references distinguishes observation from repetition. Identify source version, relevant location, date and the particular claim supported. Three files can reproduce one original number. Independence concerns origin rather than container count. These general study practices are not new mandatory HCDI forms or platform fields.
Figure 2.2 Traceability reveals circular support. Original conceptual illustration; arrows organise the discussion and do not establish a validated causal effect or a scoring procedure.
Original exercise L2 E02
Basis - original fictional exercise. The organisation, events and any numbers are invented for learning. No HCDI result is assigned.
A spreadsheet feeds a slide deck; a management memo quotes that deck. All three show the same headcount.
| Analytical task | Learner response required |
| Observation | Identify what the stated record directly establishes. |
| Inference | State the interpretation that still needs support. |
| Alternative | Identify a plausible alternative or missing context. |
| Authority | Identify the relevant credential or role boundary. |
Question - How many independent origins are demonstrated?
Worked answer: Part G, exercise L2 E02.