# Skill: Source Verification

A procedure for evaluating the credibility of sources and building confidence in
research claims through cross-checking and triangulation.

## When to use

When evaluating a claim for your report, when sources disagree, or when you need
to establish confidence in a fact before citing it.

## Procedure

1. **Assess source quality.** For each source, consider:
   - **Proximity to the claim**: Is this the original claim or a secondhand report?
     Primary sources (official announcements, academic papers, firsthand accounts)
     beat aggregators and blogs.
   - **Authority**: Is the source an expert in this domain? Does the publication
     have a track record of accuracy?
   - **Recency**: For current events and technology, recent is better. For timeless
     facts, age matters less.
   - **Bias**: Does the source have a vested interest in the claim? Neutral sources
     are more trustworthy than advocacy pieces.

2. **Cross-check.** Before including a claim in your report:
   - Find at least 2 independent sources that agree.
   - If you find disagreement, document both positions and note the discrepancy.
   - If you find only 1 source, flag it as "according to [source]" and note you
     couldn't corroborate.

3. **Document your reasoning.** In your report, cite not just the URL but why you
   trust that source ("official announcement from X", "peer-reviewed study", etc.).

4. **Build a confidence tier.** Categorize claims:
   - **High confidence**: Multiple independent, authoritative sources agree.
   - **Medium confidence**: One authoritative source or multiple weaker sources agree.
   - **Low confidence**: Single source or sources disagree. State this explicitly.

5. **Disclose uncertainty.** If you couldn't find solid sources on a point, say so.
   "I searched extensively but found limited reliable information on X. One source
   suggests Y, but I cannot corroborate it."

## Quality bar

- Never assert a fact as settled if only one source covers it.
- Prefer recent over dated, but don't dismiss older sources if they're authoritative
  and the fact is stable.
- Distinguish between fact, analysis, and opinion in your report.
- Cite generously — the reader should be able to click and verify your work.
