をもとに（して）Based on; using as a source
This construction presents something as source material, a model, or a starting point from which a new work, explanation, prediction, design, or other result is produced. The result may select, reorganize, or substantially change the original material.
From a source to a new result
The noun before the construction supplies the material or starting point. What follows is normally an act of creating, explaining, designing, predicting, or reconstructing something. It does not mean that the result is an exact copy.
The source can be transformed
この映画は、地方新聞の記事をもとにして、舞台を現代の東京に移して作られた。
This film was made from a local newspaper article, with the setting moved to present-day Tokyo.
AnalyzeThe article supplies the source material, but the time and place have been changed.
Predictions and reports
Data and testimony can also serve as raw material from which an analysis or report is produced.
過去十年間の気象データをもとに、洪水の発生確率を予測した。
We predicted the probability of flooding using weather data from the past ten years.
Analyze住民への聞き取りをもとにした報告書には、現地調査の結果も盛り込まれている。
The report based on interviews with residents also incorporates the results of the field survey.
AnalyzeHere the completed form をもとにした directly describes the report.
Source material versus justification
をもとに foregrounds material or a starting point that can be reshaped. に基づいて instead foregrounds facts, standards, or rules that provide firm justification for an action or judgment.
審査委員会は、公開された評価基準に基づいて採否を決定した。
The review committee decided whether to accept each application according to the published evaluation criteria.
AnalyzeThe criteria authorize and justify the decision; they are not source material being turned into a new product.
More examples
これは実話をもとにした小説だが、人物名や結末は創作である。
This novel is based on a true story, but the characters’ names and the ending are fictional.
Analyzeアンケートの結果をもとに、新しい研修の内容を組み立てた。
We developed the content of the new training program from the survey results.
Analyze古い設計図をもとにして、失われた門をCGで再現した。
Using old plans as a reference, they digitally reconstructed the lost gate.
Analyze子供の頃の記憶をもとに、この曲を書いた。
I wrote this song from my childhood memories.
Analyze試作品をもとに、さらに軽量化した新モデルを設計した。
Using the prototype as a starting point, we designed a new, even lighter model.
Analyze目撃者の証言をもとに、事故当時の状況を再構成した。
The circumstances at the time of the accident were reconstructed from eyewitness testimony.
Analyze