Free to read · no account needed

9 min · research

Source tiers: from primary docs to rumors

Goal: Tier every claim in a brief before it mixes into external materials—no tier, no ship.

Best for: Research briefs, competitor notes, class reading, anything AI-assisted.

Not all links are equal. Primary docs beat random blogs. Rumors are not “Label every claim by source strength before you” Teach the model your scale, then force every claim to wear a tier.

Why beginners skip this

Skipping source tiers feels light—rumor and primary papers get cited the same. Tag the tier first.

Step 1 — Four tiers

Learn the four tiers first; untiered claims do not mix into external materials.

TierExamplesHow to treat
1 PrimaryOfficial docs, contracts, filings, your analyticsCan decide from these
2 Reliable secondaryReputable reporting that cites sourcesUseful; still open links
3 WeakRandom blogs, undated posts, marketing pagesHypothesis only
4 Rumor/memeUnsourced social claims, screenshots without provenanceDo not ship as fact

Step 2 — Ask the model to tier

Have the model tier only the links you pasted—do not let it invent sources from memory.

For each factual claim in your brief, label tier 1–4 and name the source.
If you cannot name a source I provided or a URL I can open, mark tier 4 / Unknown.
Do not invent citations to climb tiers.
Example

Filled prompt

Grade: (1) gov PDF (2) vendor blog (3) Twitter screenshot of a chart.
What may enter client brief? Forum/Twitter never primary.
Label A/B/C beside each link; C-tier ≠ A-tier policy.

What good output looks like

  • Prices from the page sit at tier 1
  • News interpretation may be tier 2
  • Fancy unsourced stats drop to 4
  • You can argue from the table in a meeting

Step 3 — Pair with the matrix

Feed tiers into the claim–evidence matrix status column; Contested often means cross-tier sources fighting.

Example

Filled prompt

Claim set: pricing page screenshot (tier1?), blog roundup (tier?), anonymous forum post (tier?).
Grade each source tier and say what I am allowed to put in an external brief.
Ban treating forum posts as primary.

What good output looks like

  • Claim pack lists sources for “Label every claim by source strength before you de”
  • Primary tab opened before share
  • Unknowns labeled; no vibe citations
  • Pass/fail: one primary URL saved

Keep it real

Run this guide’s Practice now on work you will actually ship this week—not a fictional scenario. Dated notes beat perfect theory.

Label three links today

A/B/C on links you already have. Refuse Tier C as policy.

Do not bookmark-only

Finish Practice now, then tick this guide on your path. Titles unread are not skills.

Reality check

Open this guide beside a live task. If you cannot name the task, pick one before reading further.

Close the loop

Write one line: next time a claim enters the body with no source tier, I refuse.

Example

Filled prompt

Bundle: (1) court PDF (2) news rewrite of court PDF (3) Discord screenshot.
Grade tiers for an external client brief. What is banned?
Label A/B/C beside each link; C-tier ≠ A-tier policy.

What good output looks like

  • Primary tab opened before share
  • Unknowns labeled; no vibe citations
  • Pass/fail: one primary URL saved
  • Claim pack lists sources for “Label every claim by source strength before you de”

Red flag

Acting on C-tier social as policy; untiered claims in a brief—tier before decide.

Save this card

Card: Tier every claim A/B/C before deciding—a C-tier social post is never A-tier policy. Keep this beside the tool; read before you start.

Wear-test: show your Save card to a teammate for thirty seconds—if they cannot restate the refuse line, tighten the card tonight and date it (Asia/Shanghai).

Before you start

Open a blank claim pack. One claim about “Label every claim by source strength before you” plus a slot for a primary URL. Chat citations are not enough. Guide: research-source-tiers. Keep the real job visible the whole time; a blank box means stop and fetch the artifact first.

How to use this week

This week write a source tier (primary / secondary / rumor) beside five real claims; rumors stay out of the body.

Close the week by quoting aloud the refuse line you actually used once. If you cannot, rerun Practice now and date the pass/fail (Asia/Shanghai).

Pitfalls

PitfallFix
Viral = reliableTier by provenance
Model-invented “tier 1 papers”Only sources you can open
Skipping tiers on AI summariesTier every claim
Example

Filled prompt

Temptation: skip the habit for research-source-tiers to save five minutes.
Job still: Label every claim by source strength before
Smallest correct pass: Done visible · checkable artifact · Unknowns [?].
Boundaries: draft only; no silent send; no invented metrics.
Return: artifact + refuse-line said aloud.

What good output looks like

  • Names the shortcut refused (specific to research-source-tiers)
  • Still delivers checkable output for “Label every claim by source strength before”
  • Unknowns labeled; draft-only
  • Pass/fail: refuse-line dated (research-source-tiers #4)

Practice now

Tier legend: paste tier definitions on Save once (Asia/Shanghai).

Upgrade try: spend 5 min upgrading one secondary to primary (Asia/Shanghai).

Social last: social sources cannot be sole evidence (Asia/Shanghai).

Primary hunt: 10 min Asia/Shanghai to find one primary or park (Asia/Shanghai).

Downgrade drill: demote one source a tier with a one-line why (Asia/Shanghai).

Tier drill: label three sources primary/secondary/social for one claim (Asia/Shanghai).

Thin-spot drill: rewrite the Save card with real nouns from your work (repo, doc, inbox). Generic placeholders fail the drill.

Tonight write a source tier (primary / secondary / rumor) beside five real claims; rumors stay out of the body.

Ship-check: artifact path ___ · refuse-line dated Asia/Shanghai ___ · never-do ___

One sentence takeaway

Primary / secondary / rumor three tiers; rumors stay out of the body.

Next

Claim–evidence matrix · 1-minute verify · Research path

← Back to home · Learn · Tools · Compare · Start