verify-and-add-sources
Verifies claims have proper citations, searches for sources if needed, and adds them to references.qmd. Use when making factual claims or adding statistics.
When & Why to Use This Skill
This Claude skill automates the process of fact-checking and citation management by identifying factual claims, searching for authoritative sources, and maintaining a structured references database. It ensures that all statistics, research findings, and assertions in your documents are backed by high-confidence evidence, significantly enhancing the credibility and accuracy of your content.
Use Cases
- Verifying statistics and data points: Automatically search for and cite primary sources for specific claims such as market sizes, economic costs, or scientific metrics.
- Academic and technical writing: Maintain a consistent references.qmd file while drafting research papers or technical documentation to ensure every assertion has a proper citation.
- Content auditing: Scan existing documents for unsourced claims and proactively fill in missing references from reputable organizations, government data, or peer-reviewed journals.
- Source quality control: Evaluate and categorize external sources based on confidence levels (High/Medium/Low) to maintain high editorial and research standards.
| name | verify-and-add-sources |
|---|---|
| description | Verifies claims have proper citations, searches for sources if needed, and adds them to references.qmd. Use when making factual claims or adding statistics. |
Source Verification & References Management
When to Use
Use this skill when you:
- Add factual claims or statistics to QMD files
- Make assertions that need citations
- Reference external data or research
- Notice unsourced claims in existing text
Process
1. Identify Claims Needing Sources
Common claims requiring citations:
- Statistics (e.g., "Global military spending is $2.2T")
- Scientific facts (e.g., "Clinical trials cost $1B on average")
- Historical events (e.g., "Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948")
- Research findings (e.g., "Bed nets cost $5/DALY")
- Policy statements (e.g., "FDA approval takes 8.2 years")
2. Search Existing References
cd knowledge
grep -i "keyword" references.qmd
Check if the source already exists in knowledge/references.qmd.
3. Use Existing Source
If found, add citation to text:
Global military spending is $2.2T [@sipri-2024-military-spending].
4. Search for New Source
If NOT found, use WebSearch:
- Search for authoritative sources (government data, academic papers, reputable organizations)
- Prefer primary sources over secondary
- Check publication date for currency
5. Add to references.qmd
Add new source to knowledge/references.qmd:
## Military Spending and Economics
### sipri-2024-military-spending
- **Title**: World Military Expenditure 2024
- **Author**: SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)
- **Date**: 2024
- **URL**: https://www.sipri.org/...
- **Summary**: Global military spending reached $2.2 trillion in 2024...
6. Cite in Text
Add citation to the claim:
Global military spending is $2.2T [@sipri-2024-military-spending].
Reference Format
Use this structure for references.qmd:
### reference-id-kebab-case
- **Title**: Full title of source
- **Author**: Author(s) or organization
- **Date**: Publication date
- **URL**: Direct link to source
- **DOI**: (if available)
- **Summary**: Brief 1-2 sentence summary of key finding
- **Confidence**: high/medium/low (based on source quality)
Source Quality Criteria
High Confidence:
- Government statistics (WHO, SIPRI, CDC, BLS)
- Peer-reviewed academic papers
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Medium Confidence:
- Reputable think tanks (Brookings, RAND)
- Major foundations (Gates Foundation, Open Philanthropy)
- Industry reports from established organizations
Low Confidence:
- News articles
- Opinion pieces
- Blog posts
- Wikipedia (use as starting point, find primary source)
Example Workflow
User adds claim: "Clinical trials cost $1B on average"
You:
- Search references.qmd:
grep -i "clinical trial cost" knowledge/references.qmd - Not found
- WebSearch: "clinical trial cost average 2024 academic study"
- Find: DiMasi et al. (2016) study on drug development costs
- Add to references.qmd:
### dimasi-2016-clinical-trial-costs - **Title**: Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry: New estimates of R&D costs - **Author**: DiMasi JA, Grabowski HG, Hansen RW - **Date**: 2016 - **Journal**: Journal of Health Economics, 47:20-33 - **DOI**: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2016.01.012 - **Summary**: Estimated average cost of bringing a new drug to market at $2.6B (2013 dollars), including clinical trial costs - **Confidence**: high - Update text:
Clinical trials cost approximately $1B on average [@dimasi-2016-clinical-trial-costs].
Notes
- Always verify facts before adding them
- When in doubt, search for a source
- Prefer citing parameters (which have sources) over making new claims
- Keep references.qmd organized by topic
- Use consistent reference ID format:
author-year-topic-kebab-case