Knowledge Synthesis Cross Source Deduplication

Cross-Source Deduplication (+2)

Cross-Source Deduplication

The same information often appears in multiple places. Identify and merge duplicates:

Signals that results are about the same thing:

• Same or very similar text content
• Same author/sender
• Timestamps within a short window (same day or adjacent days)
• References to the same entity (project name, document, decision)
• One source references another ("as discussed in ~~chat", "per the email", "see the doc")

How to merge:

• Combine into a single narrative item
• Cite all sources where it appeared
• Use the most complete version as the primary text
• Add unique details from each source

Deduplication Priority

When the same information exists in multiple sources, prefer:

1. The most complete version (fullest context)
2. The most authoritative source (official doc > chat)
3. The most recent version (latest update wins for evolving info)

What NOT to Deduplicate

Keep as separate items when:

• The same topic is discussed but with different conclusions
• Different people express different viewpoints
• The information evolved meaningfully between sources (v1 vs v2 of a decision)
• Different time periods are represented