Open-Before-Cite Checklist
What this is. The running, per-source checklist that enforces Module 4's safety norm. Run it every time you are about to move a source from not-yet-opened to opened-and-confirmed in source-list.md.
How to use. Print and tape next to your monitor. Every item gets a ☐ → ☑ transition before you flip the status field. Run one source at a time — do not batch.
The rule: you do not cite what you have not opened.
Every source. Every time. Including sources an agent tells you it has already opened.
Existence
Does the source exist as claimed?
The URL resolves. I opened the link just now; it loaded; it is not a 404 or error page.
The domain is the one claimed. Not a typo-squat (rand.com vs. rand.org), not a content farm mimicking a real outlet.
The page I landed on is the specific document the citation refers to — not the site's home page or a category landing page.
Identity
Is this the document the agent said it was?
Title on the page matches the title in the source-list entry. If the title changed (preprint vs. published version), update the entry.
Author or publishing organization is named on the page. Not relying on the agent's assertion of authorship.
Date on the page matches the date in the entry — or if no date is visible, the entry notes this explicitly.
Content
Does it actually say what the brief needs?
I read the abstract or intro.
I read the conclusion (or, for short sources, the whole thing).
I can write in one sentence, in my own words, what this source argues or reports.
The claim the brief will use this source for is actually in the source. Not nearby. Not implied. Not a weaker version — the specific claim.
If a quote will be taken from this source, I have located the quoted text in the document (Ctrl-F / Cmd-F) and confirmed it matches word-for-word.
Integrity checks — the four fabrication patterns
Lesson 4.3 patterns — run every time
Pattern 1 — Source is real. Title search returns this paper, not nothing.
Pattern 2 — Quote (if any) is in the source. Verified via Ctrl-F.
Pattern 3 — Finding attributed to the source matches what the source says. Not a stronger version. Not missing the hedges.
Pattern 4 — URL resolves to the right page. (Also covered under Existence.)
Tier and legitimacy
Is this source the right kind for the brief?
Tier classification in source-list.md is correct. Primary = originals (official publishers, statutes, first-hand accounts). Secondary = interprets primary material. Tertiary = encyclopedias, summaries; context-only.
The source is legitimate for the brief's use. A sponsored blog post is not a primary source for a product-comparison claim. A forum comment is not an expert testimony.
My attestation
The student, not the agent, checks this box
I, not an agent, opened this file. Agent-fetched does not equal student-opened.
If I am unsure about any item above, I will default to opened-and-dropped, with a note explaining the uncertainty.
Updating source-list.md
If every item was checked:
- **Status:** opened-and-confirmed - **Claim(s) this source supports:** <one or two sentences>
If any item failed:
- **Status:** opened-and-dropped - **Notes:** <one line — which check failed and why>
Commit:
git add source-list.md git commit -m "opened-and-confirmed <entry-number>: <short title>"
Common failure modes
| What the student says | The pattern | Right move |
|---|---|---|
| “The URL 404s but the source exists — I found the right URL.” | Pattern 1 near-miss | Treat as opened-and-dropped unless it's a trivial correction (preprint → DOI). |
| “The abstract is behind a paywall.” | Partial-access | If the claim lives in the abstract, OK. If it lives in the body, get legitimate access or drop. |
| “The source says it, but cites another paper as evidence.” | Citation chain | Follow the chain. Cite the upstream source, not the intermediary. |
| “The agent says this source is primary.” | Tier over-claim | Double-check. Agents often mislabel high-quality secondary as primary. Decide yourself. |
Safe defaults
- Default to drop. If you had to fudge any item, set the status to opened-and-dropped. Five clean sources beat ten of uncertain provenance.
- The agent cannot run this for you. Not because it is technically unable — because the whole point is your attestation. A second AI “confirming” a source is not evidence of anything.
- Do not batch. One source at a time. Batching is how items get skipped.
Print this page. Tape it next to your monitor.