Legal
01 Aug 2026
By Diligencify Research
What a citation should look like when the finding is material
A working standard for source-backed research that a reviewer can follow without a walkthrough.
A material finding that cannot be followed is not finished work. Reviewers should be able to move from the claim to the source without a conversation with the author.
That means a working citation standard: what was found, where it came from, when it was retrieved, and how it supports the judgment in the file. Informal footnotes and pasted URLs are not enough when the finding will be relied on.
The test is simple. A second analyst should be able to re-open the file and reach the same source without a walkthrough.