| name | source-verification |
| description | Use when a research project must verify sources, URLs, quotes, statistics, claim-source links, archive snapshots, registry completeness, and release readiness after source evaluation and before synthesis or publication. |
| metadata | {"portable":true,"compatible_with":["claude-code","codex"]} |
Source Verification
Verification inputs
| Input | Source/provider | If absent |
|---|
| Claim-source registry with URLs, quotes, statistics, and citations | Research project | Stop verification and report the missing registry. |
| Source access and archive/provider tools | Source providers | Mark unreachable checks unassessed and seek an authorised alternative. |
Capability Contract
Verification defaults to read-only. Network access may inspect sources when authorised; archive writes, source contact, registry edits, or publication require explicit authority.
Degraded Mode
If a URL, archive, provider, or tool is unavailable, report the claim as unverified with the attempted check. Never convert inaccessibility into confirmation.
Decision Rules
| Finding | Action | Failure/risk avoided |
|---|
| Quote or number differs from source | Reject or correct with provenance | Misquotation |
| URL resolves but does not support claim | Reject claim-source link | Citation laundering |
| Source unavailable and no archive exists | Mark unresolved | False verification |
Preliminary Verification Corrections
- Checking URL status only. Fix: verify claim support.
- Paraphrasing during quote verification. Fix: compare exact text.
- Accepting a secondary citation when primary is available. Fix: trace origin.
- Treating archive absence as falsity. Fix: mark unresolved.
- Editing evidence during read-only review. Fix: separate remediation.
Worked Example
For a quoted statistic, open the cited source, confirm definition, period, unit, and exact value, record the supporting location, and reject the citation if any material element differs.
Semantic claim-support boundary
Every release-bound claim should carry a support_review record with state
set to supported, unsupported, synthesis, inference, or no-source,
plus a reviewer, basis, and parseable review date. source_ids must be an
explicit list: use [] only with no-source, and use at least one known source
ID for every other state. The verifier rejects malformed state/source
combinations and non-list manifest collections. It does not decide whether the
wording is semantically supported. Every support state remains non-certifying;
metadata cannot promote an unsupported, no-source, or inference claim to
release-ready. Use tests/fixtures/claim-support-review.json and its
deterministic tests as the contract fixture.
Use When
- Use after research waves and before synthesis, drafting, export, or release.
- Use when checking quotes, statistics, URLs, source registries, claim registries, archive links, and citation drift.
- Use when a sub-agent output contains sourced material that must be accepted, rejected, or quarantined.
Do Not Use When
- The task is initial source quality assessment; use
source-evaluation first.
- The output contains no source-backed claims.
Required Inputs
| Input | Source/provider | If absent |
|---|
| Source, claim, quote, synthesis registries, and draft output | Research project | Stop verification and report the missing registry |
| Source files, URLs, document locators, and access dates | Source providers | Mark checks unassessed |
| Source-evaluation notes, credibility tiers, and verification trails | Source-evaluation skill | Narrow the verification claim |
Workflow
- Validate registry shape: roots, required fields, allowed values, and no placeholder values.
- Check source liveness and archive references.
- Verify quotes against cited locators.
- Spot-check statistics and numeric claims against source text.
- Confirm every claim has a correctly shaped source-ID list, references valid source IDs, and carries an explicit semantic support-review state.
- Confirm every synthesis references valid claim IDs.
- Quarantine unverified claims and log failures.
- Produce a verification manifest for release.
- Stop release when material support is missing or unresolved.
- Recover through an authorised archive or mark the claim unassessed; never convert inaccessibility into confirmation.
Tooling
Use the unified verifier when a project has a machine-readable source manifest:
python tools\verification\source_verifier.py projects\<project-id>\_registry\verification-manifest.yaml --out projects\<project-id>\_registry\verification-report.md
Use the citation-density dashboard on any Markdown draft before release:
python tools\reports\citation_density_dashboard.py projects\<project-id>\05-output\<output-family>\draft.md --manifest projects\<project-id>\_registry\verification-manifest.yaml --out projects\<project-id>\_registry\citation-density.md
Both tools return a non-zero exit code when release readiness fails.
Quality Standards
- Verification is independent of the agent that collected the source.
- Numeric claims and direct quotes are checked at point of claim.
- Dead URLs are replaced, archived, or removed.
- Claims with missing source links do not ship.
Anti-Patterns
- Treating a bibliography as verification. Fix: check claim support at the cited locator.
- Checking only that a URL exists, not that it supports the claim. Fix: verify content and scope.
- Accepting a quote without locator or exact-match check. Fix: compare the exact source text.
- Allowing imported legacy sources to appear release-ready without audit. Fix: classify freshness and uncertainty.
- Editing evidence during review. Fix: separate remediation from the read-only verification record.
Outputs
| Artifact | Consumer | Acceptance condition |
|---|
| Verification manifest, rejected-claim log, quote/stat spot-check notes, and registry repair list | Researcher and release gate | Every claim is verified, rejected, or explicitly unassessed with attempted checks |
Evidence Produced
| Category | Artifact | Format | Example |
|---|
| Correctness | Verification manifest | Markdown/YAML | Source, claim, quote, and synthesis checks |
| Release evidence | Quarantine log | Markdown table | Claim ID, reason, action, reviewer |
References
- Load
references/verification-routine.md for the verification checklist and manifest.
- Load
references/research-product-audit.md before release of a research product.
Companion Skills
source-evaluation defines source credibility.evidence-claim-graph defines claim-source relationships.agentic-research-operations uses this skill for merge/reject decisions.docs/quality-gates/release-blocking-gates.md defines ship/no-ship criteria.
Freshness, uncertainty, and product audit
Verification must check not only whether a source is reachable, but whether it is complete enough, current enough, and context-matched for the exact claim. Record publication/revision/access dates, locator, source status, and uncertainty. Historical, early-release, inaccessible, or corrupted material must remain visibly qualified. Before release, run references/research-product-audit.md; its raw score is shown but the published audit is capped at 65/100, and every remediation plan targets 95/100 with acceptance evidence.
After each verification wave, capture one process defect or waste category, define a reversible hypothesis, compare the same verification measures, and standardise only a demonstrated improvement. Do not edit source evidence during the audit; change claim status or the process in a separate remediation step.
Extended verification workflow
- Confirm the claim-source registry and accessible evidence; stop if the registry is absent.
- Verify URL identity, source content, quotations, definitions, periods, units, and claim support.
- Record exact supporting locations and contradictions.
- Reject fabricated, mismatched, or unsupported links.
- Recover from unavailable sources through authorised archives or mark the claim unassessed.
Extended verification outputs
| Artifact | Consumer | Acceptance condition |
|---|
| Verification manifest | Researcher and release gate | Every claim is verified, rejected, or explicitly unassessed with attempted checks. |
Extended verification anti-patterns
- Checking status only. Fix: verify support.
- Paraphrasing a quote. Fix: compare exact text.
- Stopping at secondary citation. Fix: trace origin.
- Treating archive absence as falsity. Fix: mark unresolved.
- Editing evidence in review. Fix: separate remediation.
