Checking a Model's Claim Against a Source
Checking a model's claim means inspecting relevant external evidence, judging the source and comparing the exact claim with its original context. Record what is supported, contradicted or unconfirmed before using it.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify factual claims relevant to the task and prioritize those with important consequences
- Inspect a credible external source and compare its relevant passage with the exact claim, or record that support was not found
- Distinguish a model-produced citation from evidence that a source exists and supports the claim
1 · Read
Prioritize factual claims that matter to your task or could cause harm if mistaken. Names, dates, numbers, quotations and source references often need checking. A greeting with no factual content does not. Confident wording shows how an answer is presented; it does not prove that its claims were checked.
To check a claimed study result, open the external source, confirm its identity and judge its reliability for the subject. Read the relevant passage in context and compare it with the exact claim. A study can exist without supporting that claim. Open a genuine supplied citation directly, or search independently when needed. Another page repeating the assertion is not independent support.
Models can invent realistic titles, authors and links. Check a citation against an actual publisher page or reliable publication record. A plausible reference is only a lead. Repeating the model's description does not inspect the external source.
An invented report says 6 of 10 surveyed pupils chose cycling. Half of 10 is 5, so 6 supports 'most surveyed pupils chose cycling'. It does not support 'all pupils chose cycling'. Check both the quantity and which people the report describes.
If you cannot find adequate support, omit the claim or clearly label it unconfirmed. Do not present it as verified. Failure to find support is not proof that the claim is false. Evidence that contradicts it is a different result.
Read surrounding sentences and dates. A scheduled event is not a completed event. A record of ordering materials is not a record of using them. Preserve these distinctions when comparing a model's claim with a source.
Inspect the external source and compare its passage with the exact claim. Keep existence, support, contradiction and uncertainty separate.
Lesson, questions and cards written for this dataset.
Read what the source actually says was written for this dataset.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.