Provenance model · every value should explain where it came from

What provenance means here

Each exported record under /v1/trials can combine values from multiple upstream records. Provenance records keep those values auditable by naming the field, source, source class, source record URL, and whether the value is currently effective.

What you can verify

Public claims come in three tiers, and each tier says exactly what it lets you check. Nothing on this page asks you to take a link on faith.

1. Source ownership — always verifiable

Every provenance record names the source and source class behind the value. That attribution is part of the delivered record itself and does not depend on any external page staying up.

2. Release receipts — always verifiable

The release version and snapshot fingerprint tie everything you receive to one exact, immutable delivery. If a question comes up later, the receipt identifies the data you evaluated, whatever the live web does.

3. Resolvable evidence routes — checked every release

Provenance also keeps each record URL exactly as the source published it. Public sources move and retire pages, so rather than implying every deep link resolves, a bounded sample is probed each release and the result is stated below. A field whose sampled link does not resolve is displayed as UNVERIFIED rather than as resolved; resolving ones are displayed as resolved only while the check says so.

{
  "field": "field_name",
  "source": "clinicaltrials-gov",
  "source_class": "government | registry | manufacturer | aggregator | derived",
  "source_record_url": "https://clinicaltrials.gov",
  "effective": true,
  "superseded_at": null
}

How to inspect it

Start with a narrow API call, inspect the nested provenance payload, then compare source codes against the source registry. Snapshots preserve the same model in export-friendly tables and ship licence notes alongside the data files.

curl -s "https://api.trialbase-db.org/v1/trials?q=ISRCTN17465883&limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRIALBASE_DB_API_KEY"

curl -s "https://api.trialbase-db.org/v1/sources" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRIALBASE_DB_API_KEY"

Fields with source context

These field catalog entries are the fields most likely to carry provenance notes or audit-specific scope. The complete list is in the data dictionary.

Source catalog

Source descriptions explain coverage and redistribution posture before a buyer opens the full source table.

Reviewer caveats

Review these limitations alongside the field and source notes before production use.

• -TrialBase DB is reference data, not medical advice, trial recruitment advice or regulatory advice.
• -Buyers remain responsible for validating suitability for regulated clinical, commercial or publication workflows.
• -Array fields preserve registry-reported terms after trimming and exact-repeat deduplication; completeness and selected provenance are release-level measurements, not schema guarantees.