foundperhaps

Foundperhaps is a neologism used in digital humanities and information science to denote a tentative discovery flagged for uncertain provenance. It is typically used as a label or tag within research notes and archival metadata to indicate that a source, document, or data point has been found but its authenticity or provenance is not yet established.

Etymology: The term combines found and perhaps, signaling that the item has been identified but its reliability is not yet confirmed. It emerged in online annotation communities and collaborative archival projects in the early 2010s as a convenient shorthand for conditional findings.

Definition and usage: Foundperhaps functions as a provisional classification; it signals that further verification is required. In practice, researchers attach the tag to items in digital catalogs, manuscripts, or datasets when the item meets minimal criteria but lacks verifiable provenance. It is distinct from a confident finding (found) and from a mere hypothesis (perhaps) because it records a material state of the object in question rather than a theoretical status alone.

Criticism and limitations: Critics argue that the term may introduce ambiguity if used inconsistently, and that provenance uncertainty should be expressed with explicit metadata fields rather than informal tags. Proposals include standardizing the tag within annotation schemas and linking it to probability scores or confidence intervals to improve interoperability.

Relation to data provenance and uncertainty management: Foundperhaps sits within a broader workflow of documenting uncertainty, complementing formal provenance statements and reliability tagging. It is intended as a practical placeholder until verification can be completed.

See also: data provenance, uncertainty tagging, archival metadata, provenance score.