source document

Root information record

A source document is an original record from which information is drawn or verified.

In accounting and business, source documents are the primary records—invoices, receipts, contracts—that support transactions and entries: The auditor requested all source documents for the quarter.

In research, a source document is any original material cited or consulted, as opposed to secondary summaries or analyses.

evidence

citation

Mention of a source

referenceDirecting attention elsewhere
archiveStored historical records
proofDemonstration of truth

verification · authentication · record · exhibit · testimony · affidavit · deposition · attestation · corroboration · substantiation

Opposites

originality/derivation

source documentderivative work

Creation based on another

adaptation · translation · copy · reproduction · edited version

document role in workflow

source documentfinished product

Completed manufactured good

deliverable · end product

information primacy

source documentsecondary source

Work analyzing original materials

summary · digest · précis · overview · synthesis

Family

source, document, sources, sourced, sourcing, documents, documented, documenting, documentation

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G