Gjentakelse — The act of description

Typically

archival research is less clear-cut than the previous example. Notes/copies might be only certain records within a larger (often personal) archive. References may be within a record (Record Part).

Suppose

we discover a new note/copy/reference X to a certain record R. Does the act of describing the relationship between X and R change X and R?

How deeply interwined are description of a Record Resource and the Record Resource itself?