Education
LessonResearch methods, senior secondary and undergraduate · 50 min

Evaluate a Catalog Claim

Turn one catalog field into a defensible, limited claim by recording the record, provenance, access time, and any uncertainty instead of copying a value without context.

provenancecitationconfidencedynamic-data
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Overview

A catalog makes a claim easier to find, but it does not make every field permanent or equally certain. Good research separates the value observed, the source supporting it, and the time of access.

Dynamic-data citation guidance recognises that continuously updated datasets need an access date and time, or a specific version or snapshot. This lesson applies that principle to one real record rather than asking students to make an unsupported generalisation.

At a glance

Learning objectives

  • Distinguish a catalog value from its upstream source claim.
  • Write a citation for an evolving dataset with an access date.
  • State uncertainty or disagreement without selecting a preferred value by intuition.

Prerequisites

  • Ability to read a source note and write a short citation.

Required software

  • A web browser and a note-taking document.

Dataset version

OrbitalWiki live catalog. Record the dataset-release label from /datasets when available, or the exact access date for a live lookup.

Student instructions

  1. 1Choose one public OrbitalWiki satellite record and one field you can see with source or confidence context.
  2. 2Record the NORAD ID, record URL, field name, displayed value, source reference, confidence or uncertainty label, and UTC access time.
  3. 3Write one sentence that reports only what the evidence supports. Include a limitation if the value is derived, uncertain, missing, or conflicting.
  4. 4Write a citation that includes the record URL and access date. If a versioned dataset release was used, include its release label instead.
  5. 5Explain what evidence would be needed before you could strengthen the claim. Do not fill a gap with an assumption.

Expected output

  • A claim-evidence table for one field.
  • A bounded conclusion and a dynamic-data citation with version or access time.
[teacher]

Teacher materials, not student-facing

Teaching notes

  • Reward a precise “not currently available” finding. It is a valid result.
  • Do not require students to resolve a source conflict. The correct response may be to report it and seek a stronger or newer source.

Answer key

What belongs in a citation for a live catalog lookup?
Record URL or identifier, catalog name, and access date or time. Include a versioned release label when one was used.
What should a researcher do with a conflicting value?
Report the disagreement and evidence trail. Do not choose a value merely because it looks plausible.

How to cite

Use: “OrbitalWiki, satellite record [NORAD ID], [field], retrieved [UTC date], [URL].” Add the dataset release label when a released snapshot was used.

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