Screenshot provenance schema
Capturing a website state
A URL cannot identify the state you observed. Pages change content, layout and data. Record title, operator, complete address, access date and capture time when change matters. Note filters, login state or personalisation that affects display. Preserve the untouched image and assign a stable internal ID.
Caption pattern: “Figure 7. Results view on portal X after filter Y. Author's screenshot of Organisation, ‘Page title’, URL, accessed and captured 4 September 2026; cropped to content area, account name redacted.” The full web reference belongs in the bibliography or source list.
Capturing software
A product name is not a version. Record vendor or project, product, version and build where available, operating system, module and state. If the image displays an analytical result, also preserve data state, settings and filters in the methods record.
Caption pattern: “Figure 8. Export dialogue with format Z selected. Author's screenshot from Software X, version 5.2 on macOS, captured 4 September 2026; example filename anonymised.” Distinguish demonstration data from real research data.
- Read the version from the application.
- Keep cursor, selection and error context where material.
- Save the original before annotation.
- Explain arrows and overlays.
- Use test accounts and synthetic data where possible.
Describe crop, annotation and evidential reach
A tight crop can remove context. Retain a full capture and say what the published frame contains. Arrows, boxes and highlights are your additions and must not resemble interface elements. Use a legend. Redact identifiers irreversibly in the published file while keeping any original only in an authorised protected location.
A screenshot proves that a view appeared at a time; it does not establish that statements inside the view are true. Verify figures and claims against their underlying data or publication. If a webpage merely displays a published report, the report is usually the stronger evidence and the screenshot has a separate illustrative or analytical role.
Privacy and copyright checks
Remove names, profile photographs, email addresses, account identifiers, tokens and confidential project material. Public visibility does not automatically make reproduction unrestricted. Images of people or private communications may engage additional rights. Avoid sending protected screenshots to external editing tools without approval.
The media citations hub covers other formats. For changing web sources, see sources without a DOI. The citing sources overview explains full references.
Quality and submission checklist
- Is the depicted object unambiguous?
- Are URL, version and time recorded where relevant?
- Can the display state be reconstructed?
- Are cropping, annotation and redaction disclosed?
- Is the underlying source fully referenced?
- Are sensitive details removed and originals protected?
- Is the image legible and accompanied by useful alternative text?
- Does it serve analysis rather than decoration?
Archive original, published version, provenance record and rights decision together. Name files with screenshot ID, date and version rather than “final new screenshot”. A recapture receives a new ID and does not overwrite earlier evidence.
Check colour contrast and do not rely on a red box alone to show the relevant element. The surrounding prose should state the analytical point so that a reader who cannot see the image still understands its function. Alternative text describes the essential visual evidence, while the caption carries source and provenance.
Worked case: a dynamic results view
A portal displays results after period, region and category are selected. Show those parameters or state them in caption and provenance record. Preserve an export where available; a frame without filter state is not reproducible.
Capture the full page with address and controls before making the publication crop. Give both one base ID and distinct version suffixes. Keep annotations on a separate layer and dismiss banners through ordinary interaction. For errors, record preceding steps, input category and system time; the image cannot establish cause alone.
Retain a lossless original and check small labels, cursor and selection after export. Use test values, not credentials. If access requires an account, describe role and permission without identifiers. A second context capture receives its own number and a clear link. The caption must remain within what the visible state actually supports.
Official foundations
Record browser zoom, display scaling or responsive viewport where it affects the observed interface. Mobile and desktop views are distinct observations. Note interface language because labels and functions can vary. If several captures are stitched together, identify the montage and order visibly; it must not appear to be one unchanged screen. For comparisons, keep viewport and relevant settings constant or explain differences. These details turn a persuasive image into an observation whose limits another reader can understand.