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:

1. Search references.qmd: grep -i "clinical trial cost" knowledge/references.qmd
2. Not found
3. WebSearch: "clinical trial cost average 2024 academic study"
4. Find: DiMasi et al. (2016) study on drug development costs
5. 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
   

6. 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