diff --git a/docs/tutorials/json.md b/docs/tutorials/json.md
index e6db42d7..08b77e67 100644
--- a/docs/tutorials/json.md
+++ b/docs/tutorials/json.md
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ endpoint allows you to get a filtered list of documents from one of the NMDC Sch
 The `collection_name` must be one defined for a
 [nmdc:Database](https://microbiomedata.github.io/nmdc-schema/Database/), in the form expected by the
 JSON Schema,
-[nmdc.schema.json](https://github.com/microbiomedata/nmdc-schema/blob/69fd1ee91afac1a943b2cc9bfbfdecd0e2cdd089/jsonschema/nmdc.schema.json#L987).
+[nmdc_materialized_patterns.schema.json](https://github.com/microbiomedata/nmdc-schema/blob/1b42cef7e3a47930d25bde35b4bca0aa4391b283/nmdc_schema/nmdc_materialized_patterns.schema.json#L6699).
 This typically means that any spaces in the name should be entered as underscores (`_`) instead.
 
 The `filter`, if provided, is a JSON document in the form of the
diff --git a/metadata-translation/notebooks/ghissue_252_253_linked_samples.ipynb b/metadata-translation/notebooks/ghissue_252_253_linked_samples.ipynb
index 7e06bf41..2e12f28b 100644
--- a/metadata-translation/notebooks/ghissue_252_253_linked_samples.ipynb
+++ b/metadata-translation/notebooks/ghissue_252_253_linked_samples.ipynb
@@ -301,9 +301,7 @@
   {
    "cell_type": "markdown",
    "metadata": {},
-   "source": [
-    "Need to update mongo collection schema to account for updated fields in nmdc.schema.json:"
-   ]
+   "source": "Need to update mongo collection schema to account for updated fields in `nmdc_materialized_patterns.schema.json`:"
   },
   {
    "cell_type": "code",
diff --git a/metadata-translation/src/bin/validate_json.py b/metadata-translation/src/bin/validate_json.py
index e6e75bda..b5144cd5 100644
--- a/metadata-translation/src/bin/validate_json.py
+++ b/metadata-translation/src/bin/validate_json.py
@@ -1,16 +1,13 @@
-import jsonschema
+import sys
+
 from jsonschema import Draft7Validator
 import json
 
-# test using pytest; call with (python -m) pytest validate_json.py
-# def test_always_pass():
-#     assert True
-
-# def test_always_fail():
-#     assert False
-
 
-def validate_json(data_path, schema_path, log_file):
+def validate_json(data_path: str, schema_path: str, log_file: str) -> bool:
+    r"""
+    TODO: Document this function.
+    """
 
     with open(data_path, "r") as json_file:  # load data
         data = json.load(json_file)
@@ -24,22 +21,44 @@ def validate_json(data_path, schema_path, log_file):
     if not valid:
         with open(log_file, "w") as fp:
             for error in sorted(validator.iter_errors(data), key=lambda e: e.path):
-                # print(error.message)
                 fp.write(error.message)
 
     return valid
 
 
 def test_gold_study_json(
-    data_path="output/nmdc_etl/gold_study.json",
-    schema_path="../../../schema/nmdc.schema.json",
-    log_file="study_error.log",
-):
-    valid = validate_json(data_path, schema_path, log_file)
+    schema_path: str,
+    data_path: str,
+    log_file_path: str = "error.log",
+) -> bool:
+    r"""
+    Validates the specified data against the specified schema, writing any validation errors to the specified log file.
+
+    :param schema_path:   Path to JSON-formatted NMDC Schema file against which you want to validate the data.
+                          Example value: `/path/to/nmdc_materialized_patterns.schema.json`
+    :param data_path:     Path to JSON-formatted data file you want to validate.
+                          Example value: `/path/to/nmdc_etl/gold_study.json`
+    :param log_file_path: Path to log file to which you want the function to write validation error messages.
+    """
+    valid = validate_json(data_path, schema_path, log_file_path)
 
     assert valid
     return valid
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    print("study test", test_gold_study_json())
+    r"""
+    Note: In 2025, this script was updated ("quick 'n dirty"-ly) to allow the user to specify the various file paths via
+          CLI arguments. That update was prompted by team members noticing the hard-coded file paths in this script were
+          obsolete (i.e. they were paths to files that no longer existed in the repository).
+    """
+
+    # If an invalid number of CLI arguments was specified, abort and display a usage string.
+    if len(sys.argv) < 3:
+        raise SystemExit("Usage: script.py SCHEMA_PATH DATA_PATH [LOG_FILE_PATH]")
+
+    print("study test", test_gold_study_json(
+        schema_path=sys.argv[1],
+        data_path=sys.argv[2],
+        log_file_path=sys.argv[3] if len(sys.argv) == 4 else None,
+    ))