CCA Prep
CCAR-FUA

Lesson 5.6Lesson 30 of 30

Provenance and conflicting sources

Preserve information provenance and handle uncertainty in multi-source synthesis

Provenance and conflicting sourcesProvenance lostFindings compressed into uncitedproseConflict → pick one or averageUndated values read as contradictionsProvenance preservedClaim · source · excerpt · dateBoth values kept with attributionEstablished vs contested sectionsProvenance must be data in the schema, not a request in the prompt

Key points

  1. 1Attribution is lost when a step compresses findings into prose without claim-source mappings. Once the URL, document name and excerpt are gone, no later prompt can restore them.
  2. 2Subagents return structured claim-source mappings (claim, source URL or document, relevant excerpt, publication or collection date). Synthesis merges them and keeps every source attached to the claims it supports.
  3. 3When credible sources give different numbers, keep both values annotated with their sources and methodology; the coordinator reconciles (same definition? same period?) before synthesis. Do not pick one, average them or take a majority vote.
  4. 4Require publication or collection dates in structured outputs: 31% in 2022 and 47% in 2025 is a trend, not a contradiction.
  5. 5The report separates well-established findings from contested ones, keeps the sources' own qualifiers ("preliminary", "n=40"), and renders content by type: tables for financial data, prose for news, structured lists for technical findings.
What the exam guide checks here

Objective wording from the exam guide (English).

  • 5.6.K1Attribution is lost when summaries drop claim-source mappings
  • 5.6.K2Synthesis must preserve and merge structured claim-source mappings
  • 5.6.K3Conflicting credible statistics: annotate with sources, do not pick one
  • 5.6.K4Require dates so temporal differences are not read as contradictions
  • 5.6.S1Subagents output claim-source mappings (URL, document, excerpt) preserved downstream
  • 5.6.S2Reports separate well-established from contested findings
  • 5.6.S3Keep conflicting values annotated; coordinator reconciles before synthesis
  • 5.6.S4Require publication or collection dates in outputs
  • 5.6.S5Render content by type: tables for finance, prose for news, lists for technical

Lock it in

Answer scenario questions on this topic. Every option comes with an explanation.

Practise 5.6 · 23 questions