Research methodology

How records are sourced, checked and classified, and the terms used across the collection.

Term	Category	Definition	Records
BCE / CE	Method	Before Common Era and Common Era, used in place of BC and AD.	–
c.	Method	Circa, about. Marks an approximate date.	–
Draft	Method	A record entered but not yet checked against its source.	–
Form family	Method	A grouping of museum type labels by overall form and use, proposed by Forms Through Time.	–
Holding institution	Method	The museum or collection that holds the object and publishes its catalogue record.	–
Indexed date	Method	Start and end years read from the catalogue date so the record can be filtered by period.	–
Museum type label	Method	The object type given in the holding institution’s catalogue. Records keep it unchanged.	–
Source checked	Method	A record whose catalogue details have been checked against the holding institution’s entry.	–

Form terms follow common museum usage; each record keeps its holding institution’s label.