Sourcebysource

Sourcebysource is a methodological approach in publishing and data management that emphasizes explicit attribution of information to its original sources. In a sourcebysource framework, each claim, statistic, quotation, or data point is directly linked to one or more provenance records, enabling readers to trace every element back to its origin.

Originating in discussions around transparent journalism, reproducible research, and open knowledge, sourcebysource has been adopted across domains such as newsroom workflows, academic publishing, data science, and knowledge bases. It relies on structured provenance metadata, persistent identifiers (for example DOIs or stable URLs), version control, and, in some implementations, dependency graphs that map how sources combine to form conclusions.

With sourcebysource, authors assemble content by associating each component with its source. Publishing platforms may present inline citations, source panels, or linked provenance trails that allow readers to navigate to original documents, data sets, or audio/video recordings. This approach supports auditability, licensing compliance, and reproducibility, since others can verify claims and reuse material within permitted terms.

Challenges include the added authoring and editorial overhead, variability in source quality, legal considerations around reprinting, and the maintenance burden of link rot and version drift. Systems also require robust metadata standards and tooling to scale across large documents or dynamic data.

Applications include investigative journalism, scholarly articles with data provenance, open knowledge bases, and content aggregators that expose source lineage. Related concepts include provenance, citation practices, and reproducible research.