How the desk validates what it finds

A record on a register is not, by itself, a fact about the person. It is a fact about the register. The two are often the same but not always, and an assessment that confuses the two produces conclusions that an attentive client will find unreliable.

Validation begins with a second source. A name on a directors' register is confirmed by an independent reference (a press mention, a corporate filing of a different kind, a professional bio that names the directorship). A property registration is checked against another record (a planning application, a land charge, a council tax record) that names the same parties.

Where second sources are not available, the assessment marks the record as single-sourced. The reader of the assessment knows the standard of confidence and can treat the record accordingly. Single-sourced records are not dismissed but they are not relied upon as load-bearing conclusions.

A particular hazard is the same-name problem. Common names match multiple individuals, and the records of one may be mistaken for the records of another. The validation steps confirm that the entries are the same person through corroborating detail: dates of birth, addresses, professional affiliations, family connections. A record that cannot be corroborated to the correct individual is excluded.

The desk's assessments are explicit about the standard of confidence applied to each finding. A reader who knows what to expect from such an assessment knows how to use it. The work is more useful for being explicit about its own limits.