Citing CultureTechLens as a Primary Source

The How to Cite Us page covers citing CultureTechLens as a publisher — its articles, guides, methodology, and press materials. This standard covers the complementary case: citing CultureTechLens outputs as primary sources — the datasets, registers, and records that constitute original evidence. Use this standard when CTL’s data is your evidence; use How to Cite Us when CTL’s prose is your reference.

Standing rules (both standards): CultureTechLens is one word. Preferred attribution: “Source: CultureTechLens.” Cite the specific record, not the homepage. Include the edition or release tag whenever reproducibility matters. Until DOIs are issued, cite the repository path and release tag.

1. An Index edition dataset (primary data)

Cite the edition as a dataset. After the Zenodo deposit publishes, append the DOI.

Chicago (17th):

CultureTechLens. “CultureTechLens Index, Edition 2026-10: Artifacts (CTL-IDX-003).” Dataset. Chicago: CultureTechLens NFP, 2026. https://github.com/culturetechlens/culturetechlens-index. Release edition-2026-10.

APA (7th):

CultureTechLens. (2026). CultureTechLens Index, Edition 2026-10: Artifacts (CTL-IDX-003) [Data set]. CultureTechLens NFP. https://github.com/culturetechlens/culturetechlens-index

MLA (9th):

CultureTechLens. “CultureTechLens Index, Edition 2026-10: Artifacts (CTL-IDX-003).” CultureTechLens Index, CultureTechLens NFP, 28 Sept. 2026, github.com/culturetechlens/culturetechlens-index. Dataset, release edition-2026-10.

In-text framing: “Scores are drawn from the CultureTechLens Index, Edition 2026-10 dataset (public attention 40%, evidence depth 40%, momentum 20%; methodology CTL-IDX-001 v1.1).”

2. A source-register entry (compiled primary source)

Cite the register as a whole; name the entry in prose.

Chicago (17th):

CultureTechLens. “Source Register.” SOURCES/source-register.csv. CultureTechLens Research Repository. Chicago: CultureTechLens NFP, 2026. https://github.com/culturetechlens-cpu/culturetechlens-research

APA (7th):

CultureTechLens. (2026). Source register (SOURCES/source-register.csv) [Data set]. CultureTechLens Research Repository, CultureTechLens NFP. https://github.com/culturetechlens-cpu/culturetechlens-research

MLA (9th):

CultureTechLens. “Source Register.” CultureTechLens Research Repository, CultureTechLens NFP, 2026, github.com/culturetechlens-cpu/culturetechlens-research. SOURCES/source-register.csv.

In-text framing: “Source provenance follows the CultureTechLens source register (entry consulted 2026-09-30).”

3. A research package or knowledge-graph record (compiled primary source)

Cite by package ID; include the package’s own internal citation where one exists.

Chicago (17th):

CultureTechLens. CTL-DR-LIFE-001. CultureTechLens Research Corpus. Chicago: CultureTechLens NFP, 2026. https://github.com/culturetechlens-cpu/culturetechlens-research

APA (7th):

CultureTechLens. (2026). CTL-DR-LIFE-001 [Research package]. CultureTechLens Research Corpus, CultureTechLens NFP. https://github.com/culturetechlens-cpu/culturetechlens-research

MLA (9th):

CultureTechLens. CTL-DR-LIFE-001. CultureTechLens Research Corpus, CultureTechLens NFP, 2026, github.com/culturetechlens-cpu/culturetechlens-research. Research package.

For the knowledge graph, substitute the record ID: “CTL-KG-CORE-001 (300 entities, 224 relationships).”
In-text framing: “Entity relationships are drawn from the CultureTechLens knowledge graph core (CTL-KG-CORE-001).”

What not to do

Do not cite the Index as a ranking of importance, greatness, or cultural worth. It measures resonance in the record; say so.
Do not cite CTL data you have not consulted — cite the inputs if you computed them yourself.
Do not invent findings, partners, statistics, or endorsements and attribute them to CTL. If it is not in a cited CTL source, do not cite it as CTL’s.

Versioning

This standard is versioned with the repository’s CHANGELOG. When Index editions receive DOIs, this standard will be revised to the DOI-first format; the URL-and-release-tag format above remains valid for all pre-DOI citations.

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Citing CultureTechLens as a Primary Source — Citation Standard,” 2026-09-30.

Source: CultureTechLens

Trust & evidence

Evidence before authority. CultureTechLens publishes its methods, its limits, and its corrections alongside its findings. Claims carry grades — VERIFIED, SUPPORTED, PROVISIONAL, DISPUTED, UNRESOLVED — and unknowns are never reported as zero.