Reference · How-to · ~10 min

How to verify research bot answers

Last updated

Treat citations as claims to open — not as proof.

Treat citations as claims to open — not as proof.

#Prerequisites

  • The bot’s answer with listed sources
  • Access to open those URLs/PDFs
  • Your verification bar written first

#Steps

1. **List every factual claim** (numbers, dates, “studies show”).

2. **Open each citation**; confirm the quote/number actually appears.

3. **Check dates** — reject unmarked stale stats for fast-moving topics.

4. **Flag conflicts**; do not average disagreeing sources silently.

5. **Rewrite** the brief with only verified claims; mark gaps as unknown.

6. **Save** a verification note (what you checked) next to the draft.

#Expected output

A revised brief where every remaining statistic has an opened source, plus a short “unchecked / unknown” section.

#Failure notes

  • Citation titles that do not support the sentence
  • Secondary blogs cited as primary literature
  • Model-invented DOIs or links
  • **Try the lesson:** `ai-for-research` in Lane B · Glossary: [verification bar](/reference/verification-bar)