> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.quantoraresearch.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Observations

> The single object every dataset returns.

Everything the API serves is an observation: one value, for one indicator, for one
entity, over one period, from one source.

Turkish inflation, Apple's quarterly revenue and the EUR/USD reference rate all arrive
in this shape. Learn it once.

```json theme={"dark"}
{
  "indicatorId": "cpi_inflation_yoy",
  "country": "TUR",
  "entityId": "country_TUR",
  "actual": 32.1,
  "previous": 32.6,
  "unit": "percent",
  "frequency": "monthly",
  "periodStart": "2026-06-01",
  "periodEnd": "2026-06-30",
  "releaseDate": "2026-07-03",
  "source": "bis",
  "attribution": "Bank for International Settlements",
  "sourceUrl": "https://data.bis.org/topics/CPI",
  "sourceTier": "official_supranational",
  "freshnessStatus": "fresh",
  "scoringEligible": true,
  "preferredForFactor": true,
  "collectionStatus": null
}
```

## Identity

Three fields locate a row.

`indicatorId` names the concept. Stable across countries: `cpi_inflation_yoy` means
the same thing everywhere it appears.

`entityId` names the subject. Countries are `country_TUR`, companies `company_AAPL`,
instruments `instrument_EURUSD`. `country` is a convenience alias for the country case.

`periodEnd` anchors the row in time.

<Warning>
  `periodEnd` is when the data is **about**. `releaseDate` is when it was **published**,
  which is typically weeks later. Backtests must use `releaseDate`, or the model sees
  figures before the market did.
</Warning>

## Value

`actual` is the reading and `previous` the prior period, already aligned so you do not
have to fetch two rows to compute a change.

`unit` is not decoration. See [Units and periods](/concepts/units-and-periods).

## Provenance

`source` and `attribution` name the publisher, `sourceUrl` links the release, and
`sourceTier` ranks how authoritative it is. Every figure can be traced back to where it
came from.

Where several publishers carry the same series, the API returns **one per period**,
preferring the national source over harmonised international copies. Pass
`?sources=all` to receive every provider instead.

## Trust

The remaining fields describe whether the row is safe to use. They have their own page,
and it is the one to read before building anything quantitative:
[Trust metadata](/concepts/trust-metadata).

## Fetching them

Two endpoints cover nearly all use.

[`/observations/latest`](/api-reference/observations-latest) returns the current reading
of each series, one row per indicator. This is the call behind a dashboard.

[`/observations`](/api-reference/observations) returns history, filtered and paginated.
This is the call behind a chart or a backtest.