Creating a Dated, Categorized Source Log with Citations

Welcome back. In the previous lesson, you learned to retrieve annual reports, exchange filings, shareholding patterns, and corporate announcements. The essential next step is making that work reproducible: recording what you found, what date it applies to, where it came from, and how another person could locate it again.

This lesson builds a dated source log for equity research. By the end, you will have a spreadsheet structure that separates company disclosures, regulatory records, market data, and secondary commentary—and creates a usable citation for every source. This is a small but professional habit: it prevents unsupported claims, confusion between dates, and accidental reliance on summaries when the original filing exists.

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A source log is an evidence system, not a bookmark list

An analyst’s notes often begin with many browser tabs, PDFs, screenshots, and headlines. A source log turns that pile into evidence that can be checked later.

Each row should answer five questions:

1. What is the source?
2. Who produced it?
3. What type of source is it?
4. Which date does the information apply to, and when was it made public?
5. What claim, number, or question does it support?

A good log lets you return to a source months later and still understand why it mattered. It also allows a reviewer—such as an interviewer assessing a portfolio sample, a senior analyst, or your future self—to trace a sentence in your research back to the underlying document.

The four source categories

The categories below are based primarily on the producer and purpose of the source, not merely on the website where you found it.

Category	Produced by	Typical examples	Best use	Main caution
Company disclosure	The listed company	Annual report, quarterly results, investor presentation, earnings-call transcript, press release	What the company reported about its business, financials, strategy, and risks	Company statements may be selective or forward-looking; distinguish facts from management expectations
Regulatory record	An exchange, SEBI, or another official authority	NSE/BSE filing page and timestamp, SEBI order or circular, exchange clarification	Confirming that a filing was disseminated, its submission time, its status, or an official regulatory action	An exchange-hosted PDF may still be company-authored; do not mistake the host for the author
Market data	An exchange or data provider	Closing price, traded volume, delivery quantity, index level, market capitalization	Measuring price performance, liquidity, and valuation inputs as of a stated date	Record the exact trading date, time, field definition, and whether data are live, delayed, adjusted, or historical
Secondary commentary	Journalists, brokers, analysts, databases, commentators	News article, broker note, blog, financial portal summary	Discovering issues, gathering context, comparing interpretations, finding leads to investigate	Do not treat it as final proof of a company fact when an original filing is available

The important nuance is this:

An annual report attached to an NSE or BSE page is still a company disclosure when you use it for the company’s reported revenue, strategy, or risks. The exchange page is a regulatory record when you use it to establish the filing or broadcast date, time, revision status, or dissemination history.

The same underlying document can therefore appear in two log entries if it supports two distinct claims. That is not duplication; it is precise evidence management.

A practical example of the distinction

Suppose you read a company’s shareholding pattern filed for the quarter ended 31 March.

• For the claim, “Promoter holding was disclosed as $x\%$ as of 31 March,” use the company disclosure entry and record the shareholding document’s reporting date.
• For the claim, “The market received this disclosure on 12 April at 18:42 IST,” use the regulatory record metadata from the exchange page.
• If a news article says, “Promoters raised their stake,” log that article as secondary commentary. Then verify the claim against the shareholding filing before repeating it as fact.

This separation stops a common beginner error: writing “according to news reports” when the original document is publicly available.

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Use official filing maps before collecting evidence

SEBI’s Corporate Filings directory is useful for finding the official NSE and BSE locations for recurring disclosures such as financial results, shareholding patterns, corporate governance reports, voting results, and related-party transactions.

NSE’s shareholding-pattern page shows the type of metadata that makes a dated source log useful. Notice that the page distinguishes the ownership date from the submission date, revision date, and broadcast time.

The date problem: one source can have several valid dates

A source log must distinguish dates rather than guessing which one matters. Use the ISO format YYYY-MM-DD in your spreadsheet, such as 2025-08-15, because it sorts correctly.

Date field	Meaning	Example
Event date	When something happened	Board approved an acquisition on 2025-05-10
Period end / as-of date	The date to which reported data relate	Shareholding pattern as of 2025-03-31
Publication / filing date	When the source was issued or submitted	Results filed on 2025-05-15
Broadcast date and time	When an exchange disseminated a filing	NSE broadcast at 18:42 IST on 2025-05-15
Accessed date	When you retrieved or viewed the source	You downloaded it on 2025-05-18
Revision date	When a source was corrected or replaced	Revised filing dated 2025-05-17

For market data, add a market-session date and, where relevant, a capture time. A closing price for 2025-05-15 is not the same thing as a last traded price viewed at 11:17 IST on 2025-05-16.

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Build your dated source-log spreadsheet

Create a Google Sheet or Excel workbook called:

[Company Name]_Research_Source_Log

For now, use the temporary non-financial company from the prior lesson. You will later transfer the same process to your chosen capstone company.

Step 1: Create the core log columns

Start with one worksheet named Source Log. The following is a practical structure for an entry-level equity-research project.

Column	What to record
Source ID	A unique code, such as CD-001, RR-001, MD-001, or SC-001
Category	Company disclosure, regulatory record, market data, or secondary commentary
Source type	Annual report, results filing, shareholding pattern, exchange record, quote page, news article, and so on
Publisher / author	Company name, NSE, BSE, SEBI, data provider, publication, or named journalist
Title	Exact document or article title
Claim or purpose	The fact, number, question, or lead this source supports
Event / period / as-of date	The date to which the content applies
Published / filed date	Date the document or article was issued or filed
Broadcast / revision information	Exchange time, revision date, or version status where relevant
Retrieved date	Date you accessed or downloaded it
Locator	Page number, section heading, table name, row label, or timestamp
Original URL	Direct link to the document or source page, not merely a search-results link
Citation	A complete traceable citation written in a consistent format
Status / verification note	Current, revised, superseded, corroborated, or “requires primary-source check”

Use data-validation drop-down lists for Category and Status. This prevents variations such as “company filing,” “issuer source,” and “company disclosure” from becoming separate categories by accident.

Step 2: Create a clear ID convention

A simple prefix makes the sheet easier to filter:

Prefix	Category	Example
CD	Company disclosure	CD-003
RR	Regulatory record	RR-002
MD	Market data	MD-004
SC	Secondary commentary	SC-001

If a document is revised, do not overwrite or delete the earlier row. Add a new row, such as CD-003-R1, and mark the earlier source as Superseded. Record the new revision date and explain what changed if the filing states it.

This preserves the research trail. It is particularly important when a company corrects results, amends an announcement, or replaces an attachment.

Step 3: Write the claim or purpose narrowly

Avoid vague notes such as:

Useful annual report.

Instead, write a purpose that connects the source to your analysis:

Supports the description of the company’s revenue segments; see Note 34, consolidated financial statements.

Or:

Management stated that capacity expansion is planned; this is a forward-looking company statement, not a completed investment.

Or:

News report says the company may have won a large order; verify against an exchange disclosure before using in analysis.

A source can support more than one idea, but do not try to log every page of a long annual report at once. Create separate rows when different parts of a document support materially different claims. For example, one annual report may generate distinct log entries for:

• the business description;
• segment revenue;
• capital expenditure;
• a contingent liability;
• the auditor’s opinion; and
• related-party transactions.

The document is the same, but the locators and analytical uses differ.

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Citation formats that work in analyst research

Your citation does not need to follow a university style perfectly. It needs to let another person find the original evidence quickly and identify its date, version, and location.

Use the exact title shown on the document or webpage. Include a direct URL and your access date, especially for dynamic webpages.

1. Company disclosure citation

Use this for annual reports, results presentations, earnings-call transcripts, and company-authored announcements.

[Company legal name]. “[Exact document title].” [Document type], [financial year or period ended], [published or filed date], [page or section]. [Direct URL]. Accessed [YYYY-MM-DD].

Example structure:

[Company Name]. “Annual Report 2024–25.” Annual report for the year ended 2025-03-31, p. [x], published [YYYY-MM-DD]. [URL]. Accessed [YYYY-MM-DD].

If the report has separate standalone and consolidated statements, identify which one you used. Later financial analysis will generally emphasize consolidated figures, but your citation should never leave that ambiguous.

2. Regulatory record citation

Use this when your evidence concerns an exchange’s record of a filing, a dissemination timestamp, an exchange clarification, or a SEBI action.

[NSE, BSE, or SEBI]. “[Exact filing or record title].” [Record type], [company and identifier if applicable], submitted [date], broadcast [date and time, IST], revision [date if applicable]. [URL]. Accessed [YYYY-MM-DD].

Example structure:

NSE. “Shareholding Patterns: [Company Name].” Exchange filing record for the quarter ended [YYYY-MM-DD], submission date [YYYY-MM-DD], broadcast [date and time, IST]. [URL]. Accessed [YYYY-MM-DD].

Do not invent a submission time if the exchange only displays a date. Record exactly what appears.

3. Market-data citation

Use this for prices, volumes, index levels, delivery data, market capitalization, and other series. Specify the field and date rather than citing a generic quote page.

[Provider]. “[Company or index] [page or data series title].” [Field name] for [trading date]; captured [time and time zone, if relevant]. [URL]. Accessed [YYYY-MM-DD].

Example structure:

[Exchange or provider]. “[Company Name] equity quote.” Closing price and total traded quantity for [YYYY-MM-DD]. [URL]. Accessed [YYYY-MM-DD].

If a data provider offers adjusted historical prices, state whether you used adjusted or unadjusted data. That detail will matter later when you calculate returns.

4. Secondary-commentary citation

Use this for a journalist’s reporting, an analyst’s opinion, or a database summary. Record the author whenever available.

[Author]. “[Article or note title].” [Publication], [publication date]. [URL]. Accessed [YYYY-MM-DD].

The corresponding log note should make clear whether the item is:

• a lead to verify;
• a commentator’s interpretation;
• a reported claim later confirmed by a primary source; or
• an unverified claim not used in the final analysis.

A secondary source may be useful, but it should not silently become a confirmed fact.

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A compact example: how four rows might differ

The table below uses placeholders rather than real company facts. Replace every bracketed item with information from your selected practice company.

Source ID	Category	Claim or purpose	Key dates to record	Citation focus
CD-001	Company disclosure	Revenue mix by business segment	FY end, report publication date, access date	Annual-report title, period, page or note
RR-001	Regulatory record	Confirm that FY results were disseminated on the exchange	Filing date, broadcast date/time, access date	Exchange name, filing title, timestamp
MD-001	Market data	Record closing share price and volume for a valuation date	Trading date, capture time if relevant, access date	Provider, exact fields, trading date
SC-001	Secondary commentary	Identify a possible capacity-expansion story to verify	Article publication date, access date	Author, publication, headline, verification status

Notice that a source log does not say “good source” or “bad source.” It says what the source is, what it claims, what date it applies to, and whether you have verified it.

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A disciplined workflow for each new source

When you find something relevant, use this sequence before moving to the next tab:

1. Open the original source. If you began with a headline or database summary, look for the linked filing, annual report, exchange record, or official announcement.
2. Classify it. Choose one of the four categories based on who created the evidence and how you will use it.
3. Capture dates. Record the relevant period or event date separately from publication, filing, broadcast, revision, and retrieval dates.
4. Record a narrow claim. State exactly what the source contributes to your research.
5. Add a locator. Use page number, note number, section heading, table name, or exchange timestamp.
6. Write the citation immediately. Do not leave the URL or title for later; pages change and search results become difficult to reproduce.
7. Archive the document. Download important PDFs and save them with a consistent name, while retaining the original URL in the log.
8. Mark verification status. If commentary mentions a factual development, leave it marked “requires primary-source check” until you find the disclosure.

A useful file-naming convention is:

YYYY-MM-DD_Publisher_Company_DocumentType_Period_Version.pdf

For example, do not save files as report final new.pdf. A descriptive filename makes your local archive searchable even if a link later breaks.

Separate facts, calculations, and interpretations

Add a short label at the start of the Claim or purpose field:

• Fact: directly stated or reported in the source.
• Calculation: your own result using logged data and a stated formula.
• Interpretation: your judgement based on evidence.
• Lead: an item that needs further verification.

For example:

Fact: Company disclosed a new manufacturing facility in [location].

Calculation: Revenue growth calculated from FY 2024 and FY 2025 consolidated revenue in CD-001.

Interpretation: The announced facility may support volume growth, subject to commissioning timing and demand.

Lead: News report suggests a large customer contract; search exchange announcements and company filings.

This discipline will become especially valuable when you write an investment thesis later in the course. You will be able to show what is confirmed, what is estimated, and what is your own analytical view.

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Build your first usable log today

Set aside about 15 minutes to populate your spreadsheet with at least one row from each category:

1. Company disclosure: the annual report or latest quarterly result retrieved in the previous lesson.
2. Regulatory record: the exchange page for the same document, or a shareholding-pattern record showing submission and broadcast metadata.
3. Market data: one dated quote observation for the company, including price and volume fields.
4. Secondary commentary: one news article or database summary that you label as a lead, interpretation, or already verified commentary.

For every row, check that another person could answer:

• Which company or security is this about?
• What exact document or page is being cited?
• Who authored or published it?
• What information date does it refer to?
• When did the market or public receive it?
• Where within the source is the relevant evidence?
• Can the original source be reopened from the recorded link?

If any answer is missing, the row is incomplete.

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Key takeaways and next step

A dated source log is the foundation of credible equity research. It makes your work reproducible and protects you from treating a headline, a quote screen, and a company filing as if they carried the same evidential weight.

Remember to:

• classify sources as company disclosures, regulatory records, market data, or secondary commentary;
• distinguish the event or reporting date from the filing, broadcast, revision, and access dates;
• record a direct link, exact title, publisher, locator, and usable citation;
• preserve revisions rather than overwriting earlier entries; and
• treat secondary commentary as context or a research lead unless you have verified the underlying fact.

Next, you will select a non-financial Indian listed company for the course capstone. Your source log will help you judge whether a company has sufficient disclosures and comparable peers to support a serious analysis.