categorize-evidence

Purpose

Cluster an evidence corpus by a declared thematic, methodological, chronological, mechanistic, or other schema.

Input contract

required: [evidence_records, category_schema]
optional: [coding_rules, multi_label_policy, seed_categories]
constraints: [category assignments require record evidence and allow explicit multi-label or unknown states]

Procedure

1. Define category semantics and assignment rules.
2. Code each record using the declared evidence fields.
3. Review boundary cases and preserve multi-label or unresolved assignments.
4. Summarize category coverage and representative records.

If categorized sources now need claim-level structured records, consider extract-evidence-record as the next tactic.

Output contract

produces: [categorized_corpus, category_definitions, boundary_cases, coverage_summary]
delta_fields: [findings, evidence_updates, uncertainties, open_questions]

Quality gates

• Categories are mutually interpretable even when not mutually exclusive.
• Every assignment is traceable to record fields.

Failure and counterexamples

Do not force records into categories whose definitions do not fit, and do not confuse frequency with evidential importance.

Provenance map

• resolved: knowledge-acquisition-categorize-papers
• concept: knowledge-structuring/source-categorization-patterns
• intermediate: Pass4/map-field-taxonomy