Investigative Research Tools (Patriot University)
This directory complements the Patriot Skills library with tool catalogs, tutorials, methodologies, and links to authoritative sources for civic accountability research. It is grounded in the internal requirements document Investigative Journalism Online Tools Directory (see patriot-agent-base/requirements/# Investigative Journalism Online Tools .md).
How to use
- End users: Start with each category’s
overview.md, then step-through files intutorials/. Usemethodologies/for tool-agnostic checklists. - AI advisor: Invoke specialist skills (Phase 1–3 list below); cite KB paths for URLs and workflow reminders.
Skills (Phase 1–3)
| Phase | Skills |
|---|---|
| 1 | document-research-specialist, corporate-intelligence-investigator, media-verification-specialist, osint-identity-researcher |
| 2 | network-analysis-specialist, geolocation-verification-specialist, secure-source-communication, public-records-research-specialist, domain-infrastructure-investigator, osint-automation-frameworks, breach-data-analysis-specialist |
| 3 | transportation-osint-investigator, conflict-zone-osint-specialist, environmental-osint-specialist, wireless-spectrum-osint-specialist, cyber-threat-literacy-journalist, dark-web-literacy-journalist, osint-training-curriculum-designer |
Constitutional and legal skills (e.g. legal-research-specialist) include FOIA and public records tables; public-records-research-specialist adds full lifecycle and agency strategy.
Directory layout
| Path | Contents |
|---|---|
document-analysis/ |
OCR, search platforms, transcription overviews |
corporate-intelligence/ |
Registries, sanctions, offshore leaks |
media-verification/ |
Reverse image, synthetic media, archiving |
osint-identity/ |
Usernames, email, phone (ethical framing) |
tutorials/ |
Step-by-step workflows by subdomain |
methodologies/ |
Tool-agnostic investigation frameworks |
tool-catalog/ |
176-row tool index — YAML SSOT (tools.yaml), generated volumes A–C, per-category pages. Regenerate via make tool-catalog |
Scripts
| Script | Purpose |
|---|---|
scripts/render_tool_catalog.py |
Validate tools.yaml, regenerate volumes and per-category pages, emit stats.json. Pass --audit for staleness report |
scripts/inject_profile_trails.py |
Idempotent trail-block injection into *-profile.md (pass --dry-run or --apply) |
Use cases
See ../requirements/INVESTIGATIVE-USE-CASES.md and ../requirements/EXAMPLE-INVESTIGATIONS.md for scenarios and worked examples.
Ethics
Patriot University is a civic news aggregator and civil rights resource — zero-PII and education-first. This investigative tools library is a resource for independent journalists and researchers conducting public-interest accountability work. Use tools lawfully and proportionately. Do not use breach data, phone lookups, or username sweeps to harass private individuals. When in doubt, stay on public records and consult osint-identity-researcher guardrails.
Accountability applies to documented actions — not to political positions or protected speech.
Learning Paths Using These Tools
The following Learning Path playbooks draw directly on this investigative tools library:
| Playbook | Primary tools used |
|---|---|
| Researching People | osint-identity/, tutorials/osint-identity/, tool-catalog/by-category/people,email,phone,social |
| Researching Companies | corporate-intelligence/, tutorials/corporate-intelligence/, tool-catalog/by-category/corporate,sanctions,leaks |
| Researching Conflicts of Interest | tutorials/corporate-intelligence/beneficial-ownership-tracing, tool-catalog/by-category/lobbying,procurement |
| Truth and Reconciliation Archiving | methodologies/evidence-preservation, tutorials/media-verification/web-archiving, workflows/document-triage |
| Keeping Communication Secure | tutorials/secure-communication/, methodologies/source-protection, tool-catalog/by-category/secure-comms |
Role-Based Playbooks:
- Journalist Playbook — uses the full tool library
- Researcher Playbook — focuses on methodologies and tool catalog
- Learning Paths Index