Written accounts
Notes, witness accounts, timelines, summaries, and structured descriptions often form the basic frame of a documentation record.
Evidence guidance
Evidence Guide
Documentation can be supported by many kinds of material. This page explains what may help, what needs context, and why caution matters.
Evidence is not limited to one format. A useful record may consist of written accounts, images, screenshots, maps, notices, correspondence, school materials, or contextual documents, especially when they are accompanied by clear explanation.
Material types
What may support documentation
The Center treats evidence broadly. Different material types can support a record in different ways.
Images and screenshots
Photographs, scans, screenshots, and visual captures may help record notices, conditions, damage, public messages, or visible changes.
Documents and records
Policies, school materials, correspondence, maps, local notices, and archived records may provide context, corroboration, or pattern evidence.
Why explanation matters
A file without explanation may be difficult to interpret. It helps to state what the material is, when it was created or observed, how it relates to the issue, and what remains uncertain.
Context often turns a confusing file into a usable record.
What evidence does not automatically mean
A file may support part of a record without proving everything on its own. Documentation often depends on several pieces considered together rather than one item alone.
This is one reason the Center distinguishes evidence from immediate conclusion.
Share with care
Some files may reveal identities, locations, internal contacts, or sensitive community information. Before sharing, consider whether a file exposes someone unnecessarily.
If there is possible risk, reduce exposure first and read the Risk Notice.
What helps most in practice
Material is most useful when it is specific, situated in time and place, and linked to a careful explanation of relevance.
A modest but well-explained item may be more useful than a dramatic but unclear one.