Work the Record · Step 04

Define the Gap

The gap is the smallest thing the public record still cannot answer.

Why this step exists

Broad grievances generate broad answers. A defined evidentiary gap creates a question that can produce something useful: an admission, a document, a denial, a referral, or a clear refusal to answer.

How to do it

  1. Write what the existing sources establish without argument.
  2. Write what the institution has already said.
  3. Then write the one fact, interpretation, policy basis, or document still missing.
  4. Remove questions that can already be answered from the public record.
  5. If the remaining gap contains several independent unknowns, split them into separate records.

What it looks like when done correctly

Known: The clinic requires an agreement and provided a copy. Known: The state rule addresses agreements in specified circumstances. Unknown: What written authority the clinic relies on for requiring the agreement from this category of patient. That last sentence is the gap.

What goes wrong

“Why is the entire pain system doing this to people?” It may be an important political question, but no single records custodian or agency official can answer it as an institutional fact.

Do not move on until you have this

One sentence beginning with: “The current record does not establish…”

If you get stuck on this step, use the Work the record route on the Seeds of Vice contact page. Send the smallest useful source or question you have. Seeds of Vice can help identify the authority, narrow the question, or classify what came back.

Ask for help with this step

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