{
  "version": "2026-08-18.1",
  "verifiedOn": "2026-08-18",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "SOURCE-PHAROS-GUIDE",
      "title": "RAG vs Fine-Tuning: When to Use Each for AI Projects",
      "publisher": "Pharos Production",
      "type": "practitioner-guide",
      "url": "https://pharosproduction.com/insights/engineering/rag-vs-fine-tuning/",
      "published": "2026-03-30",
      "updated": "2026-06-29",
      "verificationStatus": "VERIFIED",
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      "useBoundary": "Practitioner framing only; quantitative claims are not reused without primary support."
    },
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      "id": "SOURCE-RAG-PAPER",
      "title": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks",
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      "type": "research-paper",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.11401",
      "published": "2020-05-22",
      "verificationStatus": "VERIFIED",
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    },
    {
      "id": "SOURCE-MICROSOFT-RAG-VS-FT",
      "title": "Augment language models with RAG or fine-tuning",
      "publisher": "Microsoft Learn",
      "type": "official-documentation",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/developer/ai/augment-llm-rag-fine-tuning",
      "updated": "2026-01-30",
      "verificationStatus": "VERIFIED",
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      "useBoundary": "Supports qualitative selection factors; vendor examples are not universal thresholds."
    },
    {
      "id": "SOURCE-ANTHROPIC-CONTEXTUAL-RETRIEVAL",
      "title": "Introducing Contextual Retrieval",
      "publisher": "Anthropic",
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      "url": "https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/contextual-retrieval",
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      "verificationStatus": "VERIFIED",
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    },
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      "id": "SOURCE-OPENAI-MODEL-OPTIMIZATION",
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      "title": "LoRA: Low-Rank Adaptation of Large Language Models",
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      "type": "research-paper",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.09685",
      "published": "2021-06-17",
      "verificationStatus": "VERIFIED",
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      "useBoundary": "Supports the LoRA method definition; benchmark results are not generalized to every model or workload."
    },
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      "id": "SOURCE-RAFT-PAPER",
      "title": "RAFT: Adapting Language Model to Domain Specific RAG",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
      "type": "research-paper",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.10131",
      "published": "2024-03-15",
      "verificationStatus": "VERIFIED",
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      "useBoundary": "Supports a specific retrieval-aware fine-tuning pattern, not a universal claim that hybrid systems outperform."
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      "id": "SOURCE-OPENAI-DATA-CONTROLS",
      "title": "Data controls in the OpenAI platform",
      "publisher": "OpenAI",
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      "url": "https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/your-data#default-usage-policies-by-endpoint",
      "verificationStatus": "VERIFIED",
      "verifiedOn": "2026-08-18",
      "useBoundary": "Used only to show that retention and training treatment depend on service and endpoint configuration."
    }
  ]
}