Which stage locates potential sources of ESI and determines its scope?

• A. Preservation
• B. Processing
• C. Identification
• D. Information Governance

Answer: (C)

Identification is the stage where you figure out where Electronically Stored Information (ESI) might reside and what should be included in the discovery effort. It involves locating custodians, data sources such as email systems, file shares, cloud apps, databases, and other repositories, and deciding the time frames and types of data to cover. This step sets the scope for what will be preserved and collected and guides what is relevant to the case, helping to avoid missing important sources or over-collecting irrelevant data. Preservation focuses on keeping data intact after a hold is issued, processing handles converting and reducing data for review, and Information Governance encompasses broad policies and controls over information across the organization. So, locating potential sources and defining the scope is the work of Identification.