Source checking

Check three things about every citation: that it exists, that it says what is claimed, and that it is the right kind of source for the claim. Fabricated references are less common than they were and still happen; misrepresented real references are now the bigger problem.

Authority matters as much as existence. A vendor white paper is a legitimate source for what the vendor sells and a poor one for market size. A 2019 figure is not evidence about this year. Note the date and the interest of every source you keep — that note is half of your audit trail.