Result-lineage review checklist
Data provenance checklist for outsourced cell-study results
A browser-local checklist for tracing a returned cell-study result through the supplied study version, samples, runs, raw files, transformations, responsible agents, reviews and corrections.
SingularCell Research. Reviewed for primary-source scope, provenance semantics and unsupported claims. The checklist verifies only named structural or byte-level properties and never validates the science or result.
How to use this resource
Use this checklist for one exact result, dataset, report or evidence-bundle version. Record only non-confidential working notes, preserve missing and conflicting states, and transfer approved findings into your controlled study record.
Entries stay in this browser page and are not submitted to SingularCell. Download or storage is not implied.
Returned-result provenance checklist
Work from the reported result backwards. Each checked item means only that a declared record or relationship is present for the exact version under review.
Working provenance finding
Draft one bounded finding here, then transfer approved information into the controlled system used for study evidence, review and correction history.
Name the exact result, dataset, report or package version, ruleset, included stages, sites, systems, dates and exclusions.
List the supplied plan, material, sample, run, source, transformation, analysis, result and report identifiers in order.
Record the property tested, exact inputs, algorithm or ruleset version, executor, time, result, errors and limitations.
Preserve absent, inaccessible, redacted, mismatched, undocumented or contradictory records without inferring cause or scientific impact.
Record prior and successor versions, downstream impact, re-review state, included or withheld evidence and the qualified reviewer decision.
Technical result boundaries
Use precise output names so a narrow structural or byte-level check cannot be mistaken for authenticity, custody, completeness or scientific validation.
| Safe result | Exact meaning | Does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| HASH_MATCH_FOR_COMPARED_BYTES | Exact current bytes match the recorded digest under the named algorithm | Originality, authenticity, authorship, accuracy, custody or scientific validity |
| IDENTIFIER_RESOLVED | A reference resolves inside the declared package or source at the recorded time | Physical identity, source authenticity or truth |
| INPUT_OUTPUT_PATH_LINKED | Declared transformation inputs and outputs resolve to exact versions | Correct processing, appropriate method or valid analysis |
| CUSTODY_ASSERTIONS_RECORDED | Transfer or possession events and their evidence sources are present | Uninterrupted, verified or legally proven custody |
| VERSION_CHAIN_LINKED | Referenced predecessor, revision and invalidation records resolve | Truthful chronology or scientific improvement |
| DISCLOSURE_ACCOUNTED | Included, withheld and redacted references are enumerated | Universal completeness or evidence sufficiency |
| CONFLICTING_PROVENANCE | Supplied provenance assertions disagree | Which assertion is true or whether misconduct occurred |
Good provenance makes the supplied history inspectable and exposes missing or conflicting links. It does not prove that the history is true, the custody was uninterrupted, the analysis was valid or the result should be accepted.
Trace one result through exact versions
Begin with one exact result, dataset, report or evidence-bundle version and define which sites, systems, dates and lifecycle stages are included. Then follow the supplied identifiers back through the governing study plan, biological material, samples, runs, source files and processing activities.
A connected identifier path is a declared lineage path. It does not prove that the physical sample was correctly identified, that the recorded events occurred, or that the method and analysis were scientifically appropriate.
- Bind the checklist to one subject and ruleset version
- Name included and excluded sites, systems and stages
- Resolve the governing study and method versions
- Connect sponsor, laboratory, sample, run and result identifiers
- Keep unavailable and selectively disclosed evidence visible
Record activities, agents and technical checks
For every acquisition, transfer, transformation, analysis, review or correction, record the exact inputs and outputs, method or code version, configuration, time, system and responsible agent. Separate human, organisation, instrument and software agents and name the role each one is asserted to have played.
Technical checks must state the property actually tested. A SHA-256 match can show that current bytes match a recorded digest for the named version; it cannot establish originality, authenticity, authorship, accuracy, custody or scientific validity.
- Link every transformation to exact input and output versions
- Record code, software, runtime and configuration versions
- Distinguish acquisition, analysis, review and release roles
- Name the algorithm and bytes behind every hash result
- Report custody events as assertions with evidence sources
Preserve gaps, corrections and disclosure limits
Do not fill absent provenance with assumptions. Keep missing source assets, mapping gaps, undocumented transformations, unknown agents, custody gaps, hash mismatches, version conflicts and inaccessible evidence as separate review states.
Corrections should preserve both prior and successor versions, the reason, responsible agent, time, affected downstream records and re-review status. A disclosure manifest should distinguish what the package includes, withholds or redacts without claiming universal completeness.
- Keep prior and successor objects separately addressable
- Mark downstream results stale when their source changes
- Record unresolved hash and version conflicts without assigning cause
- Enumerate withheld and redacted evidence with limitations
- Bind every human review to the exact object versions reviewed
Primary sources
- NIST — Research Data Framework, Version 2.0 ↗National Institute of Standards and Technology · Research-data lifecycle guidance for origins, versions, derivatives, responsible parties, tools, configurations, access and provenance.
- W3C — PROV Data Model ↗World Wide Web Consortium · Domain-neutral concepts for entities, activities, agents, derivation, revision, attribution, responsibility and provenance bundles.
- W3C — PROV-O: The PROV Ontology ↗World Wide Web Consortium · Machine-readable relations among provenance entities, activities, agents, generation, use, derivation, attribution, revision and invalidation.
- NIH — Final Policy for Data Management and Sharing ↗National Institutes of Health · Within NIH policy scope, metadata can include methodology, provenance, transformations and contextual information supporting interpretation and reuse.
- NIH — Selecting a Data Repository ↗National Institutes of Health · Repository-selection guidance addresses identifiers, metadata, provenance mechanisms, retention, integrity management and controlled access.
- NIH — Principles and Guidelines for Reporting Preclinical Research ↗National Institutes of Health · Transparent reporting can expose methods, replicate structure, exclusions, underlying datasets and attribution links without replacing replication.
- The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship ↗Wilkinson et al., Scientific Data · The original FAIR principles describe persistent identifiers, rich linked metadata, qualified references, provenance, licences and relevant standards.
- FDA — Data Integrity and Compliance With Drug CGMP ↗United States Food and Drug Administration · A bounded drug-CGMP example for retaining metadata, audit trails, original records, invalidated results and reprocessing context.
- NIST — FIPS 180-4 Secure Hash Standard ↗National Institute of Standards and Technology · Approved hash algorithms produce message digests that can detect whether compared messages changed after digest generation.
Limitations
- This checklist records and tests the structure of supplied provenance; it does not prove that the recorded history, attributed agents or custody assertions are true.
- A hash result applies only to exact compared bytes, object version and named algorithm and does not establish authenticity, originality, authorship, accuracy, custody or scientific validity.
- Connected lineage does not establish laboratory quality, method or site equivalence, validated transfer, regulatory compliance, acceptance thresholds or whether a result should be accepted.
- NIH, FDA, NIST, W3C and FAIR material remains bounded to its stated policy, regulatory, technical, reporting or reuse context and does not endorse SingularCell or the underlying result.
- Do not enter confidential, personal, proprietary, regulated or customer study information into this public browser page.