Evidence status

Record the decisive gap before choosing the next action

The checklist organizes your notes. Resolving several easy details cannot cancel an unresolved source or item-identity conflict. Keep the most consequential question visible.

Ready for another comparison

The source and variant match, decisive measurements can be read, and the next action is documented. This is permission to continue researching, not an endorsement.

Hold the row

A decisive source, price condition, identifier, or photo is missing. Record that gap even when the easier checks are complete.

Add a source-check date and a separate price-observation date using the dated record fields.

Nine research checks

Check each statement before saving

  • The item belongs in the category I am researching
  • The album or catalog photos show the details that matter
  • Watermarks and contact details are reasonably consistent
  • Sizing, measurements, or fit notes are visible when needed
  • Price is compared with similar results rather than judged alone
  • Shipping weight does not remove the value
  • The source or purchase link matches the item being shown
  • QC photos are relevant to the same item or source when available
  • I can explain why I would save this result

Hard stops

Some conflicts require a pause

Establish the item identity and source before comparing smaller details. Pause when a decisive conflict remains.

  • The source URL shows a different item, variant, seller context, or code.
  • Contact or payment details conflict without a consistent public explanation.
  • The page relies on copied photos but provides no usable identifier or source context.
  • A critical category detail is missing—for example, no size evidence for a wearable or no model identifier for electronics.
  • A transaction is being pushed before price, currency, terms, and responsible party are clear.

Decision

Choose an action from the evidence

Continue

The item and source match, no decisive conflict remains, and the next comparison is clear.

Pause

A decisive fact is missing but can realistically be checked from the responsible source.

Remove

A hard stop appears, the source cannot be resolved, or the row adds no independent evidence.

Decision note

Keep the observation and the unresolved question together so the row can be reviewed later.

Evidence status
Observed, unresolved, or not applicable, with the source
Hard stop
None, or the exact conflict that requires a pause
Strongest evidence
The most useful direct observation
Important gap
The unresolved fact most likely to change the decision
Next action
Continue, pause, or remove—with one reason
Recheck date
When the page or source was last reviewed

Strong example

A row with a clear reason to stay

The row names a neutral category and visible item code, records the exact album and separate source URL, notes which measurements and useful angles are present, compares the price only with similar results, flags likely packed weight, and links relevant QC photos that appear to show the same color and size.

Why it stays: the row supports a like-for-like comparison and labels the remaining uncertainty.

Weak example

A row that should leave the shortlist

The row has a promotional name, one cover image, no visible size or measurements, a contact that changes between pages, an unexplained number treated as price, no matching source link, and unrelated QC photos.

Why it goes: the row cannot explain what is being compared or who is responsible for the external transaction.

One-sentence rule

Save only what you can explain

If you cannot explain in one plain sentence why the result belongs on the shortlist, remove it for now.

Next action

What to do next