CALIBREXOSINT ACADEMY
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OSINT Investigation Methods

Investigation methods for working analysts: deep search, Indian public records, real corroboration and evidence that survives review.

  • 6 modules
  • 18 lessons & labs
  • 5 hours of study
  • 75% to pass
  • Certificate OSINT Investigator

OSINT Investigation Methods takes you from the foundations to the way working investigators actually operate. You will plan and log searches across Indian languages and scripts, use web archives as evidence, and read the public records that matter in India: MCA company filings, eCourts case records, e-procurement portals, gazettes and RTI disclosures.

You will learn to tell independent sources from circular reporting, to research people, companies and assets strictly within the law, and to capture and organise evidence with hashes, registers and case notes that survive review. The course ends with a full guided sandbox investigation and a practical case file built on realistic, fictional records, assessed for the certificate “OSINT Investigator”.

You will be able to

  • Plan query chains, search in Indian languages and scripts, and keep a search log that others can reproduce.
  • Use web archives to show how a page changed, and date the change honestly.
  • Find and read company, court, procurement, gazette and RTI records, knowing what each proves and does not prove.
  • Test the independence of sources, trace circular reporting to its origin and triangulate across kinds of evidence.
  • Research companies, directors, domains and assets lawfully and proportionately, within a written scope.
  • Capture evidence with a chain of custody and SHA-256 hashes, and keep registers and case notes that stand up to review.
  • Work a multi-source case from tasking to a decision-ready brief with stated confidence.

Syllabus

MODULE 1

Search Methodology at Depth

Plan queries before you type them, chain operators deliberately, search across Indian languages and scripts, and keep a log that lets anyone repeat your work.

  1. LESSON 1.1Query planning and operator chainsTurn a research question into a planned sequence of queries, run it as a deliberate chain, and record it in a search log.11 min
  2. LESSON 1.2Indian languages, scripts and transliterationFind what English-only searching misses: local-language reporting, native-script names, spelling variants and renamed places.11 min
  3. LAB 1.3Lab: Tracing a contractor across languagesWork a live-style search problem: plan the chain, read Marathi results, judge what you have found and repair a colleague’s search log.14 min
MODULE 2

Archives & Public Records

Use web archives as evidence, and find and read India’s core public record systems: company filings, court records, procurement portals, gazettes and RTI disclosures.

  1. LESSON 2.1Web archives as evidenceRead archive captures precisely, find pages that have been deleted, and date a change honestly using the captures on either side of it.11 min
  2. LESSON 2.2India’s public records: companies, courts, tenders, gazettes and RTIKnow which public record system holds what, what each record proves and does not prove, and the traps that catch careless researchers.12 min
  3. LAB 2.3Lab: The project list that changedTest a contractor’s claimed track record against archived captures, an award record and a published RTI reply.14 min
MODULE 3

Corroboration Across Independent Sources

Test whether sources are truly independent, trace claims through circular reporting to their origin, and triangulate across different kinds of evidence.

  1. LESSON 3.1Independence: when two sources are really twoJudge independence by access, not by publication, and recognise the signals that one source has copied another.11 min
  2. LESSON 3.2Circular reporting and triangulationTrace a claim through a chain of citations to its origin, then build confidence by triangulating across different kinds of evidence.12 min
  3. LAB 3.3Lab: The 68 per cent borewell figureTrace a viral drought statistic through five items to its origin, find out how it mutated, and triangulate with independent data.14 min
MODULE 4

People, Company & Asset Research Within the Law

Research people, companies and assets lawfully and proportionately: scope the task, read company filings and director records, examine domains, and use property and vehicle records only where they are public.

  1. LESSON 4.1Lawful, proportionate subject researchThe legal limits and ethical tests that govern research on people and their businesses in India, and how to write a scope that keeps you inside them.12 min
  2. LESSON 4.2Company filings, directors, domains and assetsA working method for company research on the MCA portal, director and address pivots, domain records, and the limited public property and vehicle records.13 min
  3. LAB 4.3Lab: Vendor due diligence within the lineScope a vendor check, read the register, domain and tax records, and turn mismatches into fair questions, while declining the parts of the tasking that cross the line.15 min
MODULE 5

Evidence Capture & Case Organisation

Capture evidence so that its integrity can be shown, keep a chain of custody with hashes, and organise registers and case notes that stand up to review.

  1. LESSON 5.1Chain of custody and hashingCapture online material completely, fingerprint it with SHA-256, and keep a record that shows the item you present is the item you collected.12 min
  2. LESSON 5.2Evidence registers and case notes that stand up to reviewBuild a register that indexes every item, and keep case notes that separate what you saw from what you concluded.11 min
  3. LAB 5.3Lab: Audit a colleague’s case fileReview a real-looking case file: find the gaps in a register, resolve a hash mismatch, and separate evidence from inference in the notes.14 min
MODULE 6

Sandbox Investigation

Work a complete multi-source investigation from tasking to brief: plan the collection, verify and corroborate each exhibit, then analyse and brief a decision-maker.

  1. LESSON 6.1Sandbox, part 1: tasking, plan and first collectionTurn a funder’s question into key questions and a collection plan, then collect the first public records.12 min
  2. LESSON 6.2Sandbox, part 2: verification and corroborationTest the remaining exhibits: archived claims, recycled photographs, circular press coverage, financial statements and a court record.13 min
  3. LAB 6.3Lab: Analyse and brief the sandbox caseWeigh the foundation’s response, judge each claim, set your confidence and write a brief the CSR head can act on.15 min
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