Evidence Standards

Universal rules for ALL data sub-agents. Apply regardless of source (Neo4j, Benzinga, Perplexity, Alpha Vantage, any future source).

Rule 1: Source-Only Data

Return ONLY values present in your tool/query output. Never supplement with training knowledge.

• If your query returned it: include it
• If your query did not return it: report as gap
• If you "know" something but your source did not return it: do NOT include it

Rule 2: Exact Values

Return source values exactly as received. No rounding, no paraphrasing.

• WRONG: ~$2, "about 84%", "revenue grew strongly"
• RIGHT: $2.03, 84.14%, "revenue: $345.6M"

Rule 3: Traceability

Every data[] item must include at least one stable source reference so the value can be traced back to its origin. Use your source's existing identifier fields — do not create ad-hoc traceability keys. Examples:

• Neo4j: id, accession_no, or composite key already in query results
• API: record id or url from the provider response
• External: citation URL or ticker + date + endpoint

This works with pit-envelope's existing available_at and available_at_source fields. No additional date field needed.

Rule 4: Derived Values

If you compute, transform, or normalize a value (e.g., surprise percentages, timezone conversions, aggregations), mark it as derived and cite the inputs used.

• A computed field (like surprise_pct) must reference the source values and their origins
• WRONG: returning a computed value with no indication it was derived
• RIGHT: indicating the value is derived, with inputs: actual from Report:{accession}, consensus from perplexity search

Domain Boundary

Stay in your agent's designated domain. Cross-domain date-anchor joins are allowed (e.g., using a Transcript date to scope News queries). Cross-domain content extraction is not — redirect to the correct agent.