Kontekstnote

Kontekstnote, or context note, is a metadata construct used in note-taking and knowledge management to capture contextual information associated with a piece of information, idea, or source. It helps readers understand why a note exists, how it relates to other notes, and under what conditions it was created.

A kontekstnote typically includes fields such as origin or source, purpose, time and location, perspective or author stance, scope and constraints, related notes, and provenance (who created or edited it).

Usage involves attaching the kontekstnote to the corresponding note or citation within digital notebooks, wikis, or knowledge graphs. It supports traceability, reproducibility, and critical reading by making implicit reasoning explicit, while remaining distinct from formal bibliographic metadata.

History and scope: The concept emerged in Nordic academic and open-note communities in the 2020s as a pragmatic approach to context-aware documentation. It is not a universal standard, but a flexible pattern compatible with JSON, YAML, and simple text annotations.

Critique and challenges: Creating kontekstnotes can add cognitive and time overhead, and there are concerns about privacy, consistency, and interoperability. Proponents argue that well-maintained kontekstnotes improve long-term reuse, transparency, and understanding of source material.

See also: metadata, annotation, provenance, knowledge graph, context-aware computing. Example: A note quoting a policy document includes a kontekstnote noting the retrieval date, research question, the author’s intent, and the intended audience.