Backing Claims with Verified References

Back every claim with scientific literature you have read and verified, and record how you got there. A citation is a load-bearing claim: it asserts that a specific source supports a specific statement. This skill makes that assertion auditable.

Core principle

Never cite from memory, from a title, or from a search-result snippet. Open the source, find the passage that supports the claim, and record it. A reference that is merely about the same topic is not support — the quote must entail the specific claim, at the claim's scope and strength.

Corollary: the search tool is free, the documentation is not. Use any source you like — scholar, Google Scholar, a publisher database, WebSearch, a colleague's tip — but every reference must carry a reproducible FOUND-VIA.