Content type
Article or field note
Primary use
Use this page to understand the source lane, claim boundary, and safest next review step before repeating stronger wording.
What this page adds
It should add source-aware context, place anchors, wording limits, and a clearer next step than a raw claim or isolated source link can provide.
Evidence level
Starter
Claim status
Open
You should leave with a clearer next step, a better sense of the evidence boundary, and less temptation to overstate the page.
Methods
From Source Trail to Public Caption
This field note is part of the FOBA learning stream. It is meant to orient readers and point toward better source work.
What this field note adds
- It gives readers a shorter editorial waypoint between a raw research question and a fuller flagship or wiki treatment.
- It makes one method, caution, or place-based reading move visible enough to reuse elsewhere on the site.
- It keeps the project thinking in public instead of hiding every refinement until a large page rewrite happens.
Key points
- Captions should tell the reader what an image is, where it comes from, why it is on the page, and what it does not prove.
- A source trail should be checked before a historical image, map, or field photo is used to support a claim.
- Generated or decorative artwork should be described as visual context only.
Next steps
- Use captions for maps, field photos, archival images, and generated visuals.
- Do not use sensitive images without owner review.
- Keep alt text functional and cautious.
Reader use test
A useful field note should leave the reader with one clearer question, one better source path, and one safer wording choice. If it only leaves a broad conclusion, route the topic into a source table or claim review before reusing it.
How to use this field note
- Treat it as a method prompt, not a final evidence packet.
- Carry forward the question, caution, or source pathway rather than only the conclusion.
- Open the relevant place hub, field guide, source-review page, or claim-review page before repeating stronger wording.
- Submit a Community Note or Fact Check when the note exposes a missing source, contradiction, or wording risk.
What remains open
A field note is a directional page, not a final proof packet. Readers should expect to continue into source tables, claim review, community notes, fact checks, or larger place-based articles before treating the topic as settled.