Lesson 4 of 7 in Run and Read a Diagnosis
Why this matters
A diagnosis is only useful if its findings can be checked. The report binds research to sources: narrative lines that cannot be tied to a citation are left out, and figures that cannot be matched to a measured value are filtered away. That binding is what separates evidence from opinion. It matters most when a finding leaves the app, in a client review or a budget conversation, where an unsourced claim can steer spend in the wrong direction.
When to use it
Whenever you read, share, or act on a specific finding, and before you quote the diagnosis outside the app.
Before you start
- A finished run and a finding you want to rely on.
- The difference between a sourced claim and an inference. The report marks its inferences, and you should keep them marked when you repeat them.
Do this
- 1Check for a banner above the report. "This is a direct-evidence map, not a full research read" means the run rests on direct scans, connected-account facts, and owner-confirmed intake only, so it cannot support deeper market claims. "This read could not establish observable evidence" means every area remains Unknown.
- 2In "How your marketing works today", every paragraph names its sources by number. Select a number to jump to that source in "Snapshot & sources", then open it.
- 3Treat a paragraph tagged "Our read" as the report's own inference, not a sourced fact. The same goes for "What we suspect", which goes past the evidence on purpose.
- 4In each area's section, findings carry a "Grounded research" tag and a confidence level. Check them against the source list before repeating them.
- 5In "Diagnosis History", the "Evidence map" column labels each run "Grounded read", "Direct scan only", or "Unavailable". Compare runs with the same basis before drawing conclusions.
- 6When you quote a finding outside the app, carry its source with it. If you cannot find one, verify the claim another way before you act.
What you should see
Numbered source markers in the read, a numbered source list at the end with a count of sources cited, and a "Sources cited" figure in the method section. An entry reads "Source unavailable" when the research returned no usable public link or title for it.
How to judge it
For any finding you plan to use, you can answer three questions: which source supports it, whether it is a sourced claim or the report's own read, and what evidence basis the run had. If you cannot answer all three, you are holding an opinion, not evidence. Read evidence like an operator goes deeper.
What it does not mean
A citation makes a claim checkable, not true. A source can be out of date or describe a different page than you expect, so open it before a claim carries weight. A direct-scan-only run is not a failed run; it is a narrower one, and it supports narrower conclusions.
Try it in Signal & Science
Open a finished diagnosis and trace one finding to its numbered source before you quote it.
Open in Signal & Science