Can I always see the original source of a signal?

Why is the original source essential in watching?

Information without a source is no use for deciding, because it is not possible to know who says it, when, or with what authority. UNE 166006:2018 treats control of information sources as an activity that each organisation must define and document, like search, processing or value-adding^[1]. The link to the original is what makes that control auditable: without it, the reliability of a signal is a matter of trust, not of verification.

The source matters even more when AI is involved. An automatic summary can omit a nuance, a condition or a date. The original is the reference against which it is corrected.

What is the difference between a primary and a secondary source?

The primary source is the one that originates the fact: the official gazette that publishes the rule, the patent office that publishes the application, the company that announces its result. The secondary source reports or interprets it: a media outlet, a blog, a third-party report. Secondary sources usually arrive first and give context; primary sources are the ones that confirm.

An example of why it is worth going to the original: the European Patent Office publishes applications as soon as possible after 18 months from the filing date or the earliest priority date^[5]. A news item that presents a patent as ‘new’ is in fact describing a technical decision taken at least a year and a half earlier. That date is only in the primary source.

How does Innguma keep the source?

• Link to the origin: each signal links to the publication it comes from.
• History with source: the Library keeps what has been validated with its source, tags and comments.
• AI accompanies, it does not replace: newsletter summaries generated by AI help you read faster; the original is one click away.
• Human judgement: people decide what is published and who receives it.

How do you check a signal before using it in a decision?

1. Open the original; do not stop at the headline or the summary.
2. Identify who publishes it, and whether it is the primary source or one that cites it.
3. Check the date of the fact, not only the publication date of the news item.
4. Look for the primary source if the signal comes from a secondary one: the text in the gazette, the application at the patent office, the company’s statement.
5. Cross-check with an independent second source if the decision is important.
6. Record in the comment what was checked and the date of consultation. Websites change or disappear; ISO 690:2021 sets out guidelines for citing electronic resources, including web files^[6].

What happens if the original source changes or is withdrawn?

It happens often: a company redesigns its website, a media outlet corrects a story, an administration updates a page. That is why the analyst’s comment, recording what was checked and when, forms part of the value of the history. The signal keeps its link; the comment expands the context. AI answers; watching expands the context.