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A single starting point to find the method, source or situation relevant to your question.

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All words must match, regardless of case or accents. Search stays in the selected language.

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Guide
Denominator
Reference population or quantity used to calculate a rate. A different denominator may make figures incomparable.
Guide
Modelled estimate
Value produced statistically when direct observations are incomplete. Retain model, assumptions and uncertainty range.
Guide
Editorial revision
Verified update to content, sources, dates, links and language variants; distinguish a minor correction from a substantive change.
Guide
ORCID
Persistent identifier connecting a person with a record of contributions and affiliations. Check who supplied each entry and when; the profile does not prove current employment.
Guide
ROR
Persistent Research Organization Registry identifier distinguishing research organisations despite name variations. It does not independently validate an author’s affiliation.
Guide
PMID
Identifier of a bibliographic reference in PubMed. The record and abstract do not replace the full text; a PMID differs from a DOI and PMCID.
Guide
PMCID
Identifier of a document in PubMed Central. Check its version, updates and reuse rights: free access does not remove copyright.
Guide
Preprint
Version made public before peer review. Identify its repository, date and version, then look for any later publication without treating the two texts as identical.
Guide
Memento
In the RFC 7089 framework, a resource representing a prior state of another resource.
Guide
TimeMap
List of Memento addresses for a resource. Distinguish listed states from readable ones.
Guide
WARC
Format grouping resource records and metadata. Preserving a file does not resolve its interpretation.
Guide
Archive replay
Consulting an archival resource through an interface. Record useful components and destinations actually read.
Guide
Idempotence
Property whereby repeating an operation has the same intended effect as executing it once. It does not guarantee an identical response or safety of every retry.
Guide
Control case
Case with a known expected result used to compare observed behaviour. Describe the control and conditions; it does not replace real cases.
Guide
SHA-256
256-bit cryptographic digest of file bytes. Supports integrity comparison; it proves neither authorship, time nor factual truth.
Guide
Retraction
Notice withdrawing a publication from reliable scientific literature. Read its scope and reasons, which do not automatically establish misconduct.
Guide
Expression of concern
Notice of uncertainty about a publication during checks. Distinguish it from correction and retraction; preserve the notice with the text.
Guide
API pagination
Dividing results into pages or cursors. A successful response may return only part of a collection; check pages, unique identifiers and stopping rules.
Guide
RNA
French national association register; its identifier replaces neither SIREN nor SIRET and coverage excludes the Alsace-Moselle local regime.
Guide
VIES
European system querying national VAT databases. Distinguish its dated response from an availability error.
Guide
Clinical trial identifier
Stable registry reference for a trial. Secondary identifiers connect registrations of one trial without making them independent studies.
Guide
Data dictionary
Description of dataset fields: meaning, type, format, unit, codes, missing values, keys and schema version.
Guide
Missing value
Absence of a measurement or information whose cause needs documentation. Zero, empty string and not applicable are not automatically equivalent.
Guide
Composite key
Fields jointly identifying a row, such as entity and period. Removing a component can create multiple matches.

Choose a starting point

Choose a method

Start from a task: verify, compare, document or decide.

Check a source

Examine the origin, date, scope and limits of information.

Understand a term

Find definitions before applying a protocol.

How can I refine the search?

Start with the topic: Enter one or two specific terms: citation, CSV or provenance. Every word must be present, so a long sentence can exclude useful pages.
Broaden before filtering: Search all families first. Then select a guide, protocol or source according to the kind of answer you need.
Try different wording: Try a synonym or a term in the selected language. Quotes, OR and asterisks are not search operators.

DEEPER READING / PRACTICE

Turn internal search into a useful user journey

A query produces several close results. Reading should help to distinguish the need definition folder, detailed method and implementation tool.

Updated on 2026-10-21.

Priority checks

Formulate a specific need and then try neighboring terms. Read the descriptions and select the type of resource according to the searched step: understand, run or control.

Interpretation pitfalls

The first result is not always the best document to the context. An absence can come from the vocabulary used rather than a lack of content.

Working record to retain

A short route connects a need definition page, a guide and a checklist. Maintaining unresolved questions helps to rebuild research.

PRACTICAL CASE / WORKED EXAMPLE

A natural requirement does not match the exact title

The following case illustrates an approach to defining the need. Situations are pedagogical: they serve to examine the choices and conditions of success, without describing a fulfilled mission or announcing a guaranteed result.

Example context

A reader is looking for how to check a number, while the resources use the word indicator. The results must allow to continue despite a different formulation of the title.

Suggested approach

Try the neighboring terms and read the descriptions. Differentiate methods of calculation, comparison and verification of sources. Choose the resource that corresponds to the actually sought-by-step.

Conclusion and next step

Research becomes a path of solution. The questions still open serve to clarify the next query instead of multiplying the words without clear intention.

Questions for deeper practice

How do you improve a search without losing the initial need?

Keep the starting question and then specify the object, operation and resource type. Useful results give a complementary vocabulary, but their title should not automatically replace the reader's target.

DETAILED WORKSHOP / APPLICATION

Refine a query for the task to carry out

01 / Prepare the necessary information
Describe the initial question and the desired result. Identify the object, operation and type of resource that could help: file, method or tool.
02 / Carry out the approach
Try a formulation and read the descriptions. Release the useful terms and test the variants without giving up the intention. Compare the resources found according to their contribution to the route.
03 / Examine an alternative situation
If the results are close but too general, specify the operation or scope. A well-classed page is not necessarily the one that meets the searched step.
04 / Decide on the next step
Research is useful when it leads to a resource whose response can be identified. Open questions are used to prepare for the next consultation.
05 / Hand over the verification records
Keep a short track with request, resource and supplement. The reader can restart his work without repaired the tests that have led to useful content.

ANNOTATED WORKING DOCUMENT / REVIEW GRID

A track record from a request

The note retains question, tried formulations, useful results and next resource. It distinguishes the exploration vocabulary from the initial goal of the reader.

On a small screen, scroll the grid horizontally to read all three columns.

Example situations to assess
Observation	Supported interpretation	Next step
A resource responds to the desired operation.	The result can serve as a useful step in the course.	Keep the passage and choose the necessary supplement.
The results remain general despite the good topic.	The request must specify action, object or scope.	Try an appropriate formulation without losing the initial question.
The first result has the word but not the answer.	The presence of the term does not prove its relevance.	Read the descriptions and compare the contribution of resources.

Reviewing the working document

The final verification verifies that each step reduces an open question. A link list is not yet a useful path if the reader cannot explain what each page brings.

REPORTING / EXAMPLE WORDING

Presentation of results: Turn internal search into a useful user journey

Point to clarify

A search result must be judged according to its contribution to the searched operation.

Before handing over

Check that the track keeps the initial question despite the vocabulary variants.

Example of a qualified conclusion

The resource selected meets the described stage of the need. The questions still open guidelines the next consultation and remain distinct from the answer found.