Evidence Matrix

Build an evidence matrix that can support a final report.

Inputs:

• Research contract.
• Source notes.
• sources.jsonl.
• Existing evidence-matrix.jsonl.
• Conflicts or gate findings.

Procedure:

1. Enumerate answer claims

   • Extract candidate claims from source notes.
   • Group claims by subquestion.
   • Remove claims that do not answer the contract.

2. Link sources

   • Each evidence item must reference one or more source IDs.
   • Use multiple independent sources for major claims when possible.
   • Use only sources whose sources.jsonl record has retrieval_status of retrieved or partially_retrieved and claim_support_allowed: true.
   • Exclude sources marked inaccessible, claim_support_allowed: false, metadata-only, snippet-only, or fetch_failed.

3. Classify support

   • direct empirical result.
   • benchmark/dataset evidence.
   • theoretical argument.
   • official statement/specification.
   • expert opinion.
   • indirect/contextual evidence.

4. Assess confidence

   • high: direct, credible, recent, and corroborated.
   • medium: credible but limited or single-source.
   • low: weak, old, indirect, or contested.

5. Capture conflicts

   • Record conflicting evidence and why it differs.
   • Do not hide inconvenient sources.

6. Identify gaps

   • Missing source class.
   • Missing recent evidence.
   • Missing primary evidence.
   • Unsupported final-report claim.

Output JSONL schema:

{"claim_id":"C001","subquestion":"...","claim":"...","source_ids":["S001","S002"],"support_type":"direct empirical result","confidence":"high|medium|low","evidence_summary":"...","limitations":"...","conflicts":["..."],"report_recommendation":"use|caveat|exclude"}

Also update conflicts-and-limitations.md with:

• Strongest conflicts.
• Evidence gaps.
• How these affect final recommendations.

Completion criteria:

• Report Writer can cite every key claim from the matrix.
• QA can verify source IDs.
• Reviewer can judge whether the method is adequate.
• No evidence item depends on a source that Source Reader did not retrieve.