Design context and scope
The production site includes a consolidated works-cited page grouped by topic. This .site version keeps the idea of centralized references but reframes it as a process guide for attribution, source hygiene, and topic-tagged note maintenance.
Coverage map for this lab note
- How to maintain one reference index for multiple technical guides without duplicating citations page by page.
- Source grouping by topic (CMOS, synthesis, floorplan, placement, CTS, and others) to match study-note organization.
- Minimum citation fields for engineering notes: title, source, URL, access date, and topic tags.
- How to distinguish primary sources, tool documentation, educational summaries, and secondary explanations.
- Periodic link review and update workflow to reduce link rot in public study sites.
- A clean process for adding new sources while keeping .site and .top documentation independent.
What you should be able to explain
- Build a consistent citation format for future guides and case notes.
- Organize sources so readers can trace which topic each reference supports.
- Maintain a clean separation between test-site references and production-site citation pages.
- Reduce broken links and missing attributions over time.
Review checklist before moving ahead
- Record source title, publisher or author, URL, and access date for each entry.
- Tag each source by topic and content type (doc, paper, tutorial, article).
- Note whether the source is primary or secondary when possible.
- Review stored links on a schedule and replace dead URLs.
- Update guide pages when a source change affects terminology or claims.
Common watchouts
- Do not mix test-site source lists with production citations if the content is intentionally different.
- Secondary summaries are useful, but rely on primary documentation for tool behavior and definitions when possible.
- Link-only citations without access dates make later audits harder.
Self-check prompts
- What makes a citation workflow scalable when the number of guides grows?
- When should a source be removed or replaced in a technical note site?
- How can topic tags improve maintenance and internal content updates?