# SCC Nexus Methodology

## Research lifecycle

SCC Nexus uses a staged lifecycle intended to prevent discovery artefacts from becoming public claims without adequate scrutiny.

### 1. Question definition
Define the research question, scope, population or system of interest, timeframe, decision context and intended audience. Record material assumptions before analysis where feasible.

### 2. Source discovery
Search authoritative databases, official repositories, scholarly indexes and other relevant sources using documented search terms and dates. Discovery results are candidates, not evidence conclusions.

### 3. Source screening
Assess relevance, source identity, duplication, currency, licensing and minimum evidential suitability. Record exclusions when they could materially affect interpretation.

### 4. Extraction
Capture source identifiers, dates, variables, study or record characteristics, extraction method and provenance. Preserve original units and fields where practicable.

### 5. Corroboration
Cross-check important facts against independent or primary sources where available. Resolve entity identity deterministically using stable identifiers before relying on fuzzy matching.

### 6. Analysis
Use deterministic, versioned transformations where possible. Separate descriptive analysis from inferential analysis and record assumptions, thresholds, models and sensitivity checks.

### 7. Validation
Run schema, completeness, consistency, range, duplication and provenance checks appropriate to the dataset. Scientific interpretation receives human review where material.

### 8. Publication
Publish only outputs that pass the defined gate. Every public research output should include citations, method version, output version, limitations and status.

### 9. Maintenance
Re-run research according to a declared cadence where data are time-sensitive. Record corrections, retractions, source changes and methodological changes.

## Review states

`discovered` — identified during search.

`screened` — relevance and source identity checked.

`verified` — evidential support and provenance checked under the applicable protocol.

`published` — passed the public-release gate.

These states are not interchangeable. A source can be authentic yet fail to support a claim.

## Minimum publication gate

A substantive public output should fail closed if any mandatory item is absent: source provenance, method version, validation status, limitations, output timestamp/version, or required reviewer decision.