Reviews
Part of Public records reporting: a guide to finding and reading documents
Official record types compared: proposals, decisions, reports, and data
Official record types compared by purpose, authority, version, evidence, common misreading, update pattern, and the claims each document can support.
What to take away
- A proposal describes possible action, not completed action.
- A decision records an authorized outcome within a defined process.
- A report presents findings under a stated scope and method.
- A dataset needs definitions, coverage, and revision information.
- Version labels can matter more than an official-looking design.
Public bodies publish documents for different jobs. Reading them as one category called "official records" causes avoidable errors. A proposed rule is not a final rule. A hearing record is not a finding. A bill is not a law. A dataset release may be revised. The public records reporting guide shows how to obtain each of them in the first place.
The comparison below focuses on what each record can support in an explanatory article.
Comparison table
| Record type | Main purpose | What it can establish | Common misreading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposal | Put possible action forward | The author proposed specified text or terms | Treating it as adopted policy |
| Decision or order | Record an authorized outcome | The named body took the stated action | Assuming every factual claim in it is uncontested |
| Meeting record | Document proceedings and votes | The recorded actions and official account | Treating minutes as a verbatim transcript |
| Audit or study | Present findings from a method | What the review found within its scope | Generalizing beyond the sample or period |
| Contract | State agreed terms | Duties and prices in that version | Equating base value with total final spending |
| Dataset | Provide structured observations | Values under supplied definitions | Ignoring missing fields or later revisions |
| Hearing material | Collect testimony and evidence | What participants submitted or said | Treating testimony as an adjudicated fact |
Proposals and enacted measures
A proposal records intent and text at one point in a process. It can change, fail, expire, or be replaced. Report the stage in every summary. Stage language is the daily work of government policy reporting.
Legislative records offer a clear example. GovInfo explains that congressional bills are proposals, identifies eight bill and resolution types, and lists many versions associated with steps in the legislative process. Its guide to congressional bills and versions supports checking the Congress, chamber, bill type, number, and version before describing the text. The page concerns U.S. federal legislative publications, not state systems.
Decisions and orders
A final decision can establish that a body reached an outcome and ordered a specified action. Read the authority, effective date, conditions, appeal status, and attached findings. A court opinion can contain allegations, procedural history, reasoning, and holdings. Those parts should not be paraphrased as if they have the same status.
Check whether a later order stayed, amended, vacated, or corrected the first one.
Minutes, transcripts, and recordings
Minutes are an approved institutional summary. A transcript aims to capture spoken words. A recording provides sound or video but may be incomplete, hard to hear, or missing off-microphone activity.
Use minutes for recorded motions and votes. Use a transcript or recording for exact language, after checking identity and completeness. If two records differ, report the difference rather than silently choosing one. Version questions like these fill the step-by-step method for reading an official document.
Reports and audits
A report is only as broad as its question and method. Identify who commissioned it, who performed it, what evidence was reviewed, the period, exclusions, findings, recommendations, and response from the reviewed body.
Recommendations are not orders unless the author has authority to require them. A management response is not proof that corrective action occurred.
Contracts and spending records
The signed agreement states terms. Amendments can change price, schedule, scope, and parties. Purchase orders, invoices, and payment records answer different questions. Distinguish authorized maximum, obligated amount, invoiced amount, and paid amount.
Data releases
Read the data dictionary before ranking or totaling values. Confirm whether rows represent people, cases, events, payments, or repeated observations. Check suppression rules, missing values, geographic boundaries, inflation treatment, and revision schedules. The statistics and polls guide covers what those definitions do to a comparison.
A current value can be valid under a new method but not directly comparable with an older series. Explain breaks in method.
Repositories and coverage
No single portal contains every public record. GovInfo describes itself as a service of the Government Publishing Office that provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government. That scope, stated on its description of the repository, covers published material, so a record can exist and still sit outside the collection.
A missing search result means the chosen system did not return the item. It is not proof that no responsive record exists elsewhere.
Selection rule
Match the claim to the record:
- intent: proposal or draft;
- authority: signed decision, order, or enacted text;
- discussion: minutes, transcript, or recording;
- measured finding: report, audit, or dataset;
- agreed obligation: executed contract and amendments;
- payment: invoice and disbursement record.
Use more than one type when the question spans stages.
Common questions
Is a press release an official record?
It is an official statement from its issuer, but it is usually a summary. Check the underlying order, report, data, or agreement.
Can meeting minutes prove what every participant said?
Not unless the minutes are identified as a verbatim record. They usually summarize proceedings and formal actions.
Is the latest document always controlling?
Not necessarily. Check its legal status, effective date, relationship to earlier versions, and any stay or appeal.
Why save document metadata?
Metadata helps distinguish versions, identify the source, reproduce searches, and explain later changes.