The Three-Source Rule

End-of-lesson check

15 questions · take it digitally for instant feedback at tendril.neural-forge.io/learn/quiz/end-builders-research-three-sources

1. What is the minimum number of independent sources needed to confirm a factual claim before treating it as likely true?

   1. One source is sufficient if it comes from a reputable organization
   2. At least three independent sources are needed
   3. Two sources that agree provide strong enough evidence
   4. Four sources are required to be absolutely certain

2. A student finds three news articles that all report the same statistic and each cites the same original government report. Can these three articles be considered three independent sources?

   1. No, unless the student reads the original government report
   2. No, because they all trace back to a single original source
   3. Yes, as long as the articles were published in different years
   4. Yes, because they come from three different publications

3. Why does asking three different AI chatbots the same question not satisfy the three-source rule?

   1. AI responses are always incorrect
   2. AI chatbots are not reliable sources of information
   3. AI models may share training data and repeat the same errors
   4. The three-source rule only applies to human-written sources

4. A claim appears in a 2018 textbook, a 2019 news article, and a 2020 academic journal—all agreeing on the same historical event. Why might this still not guarantee the claim is true?

   1. Academic sources are always more reliable than news
   2. Historical facts cannot be verified through sources
   3. Newer sources are always more accurate than older ones
   4. All three could be copying the same original error from an early source

5. What does triangulation mean in the context of fact-checking and research?

   1. Writing a paper with three different authors
   2. Using mathematical formulas to calculate source reliability
   3. Measuring the physical distance between sources
   4. Cross-checking information across multiple independent sources

6. A researcher finds three sources from three different countries that all agree on a historical fact. Why is this considered stronger evidence than three sources from the same country?

   1. Foreign sources are always more trustworthy
   2. Academic journals in other countries are longer
   3. Different countries have different publishing standards
   4. Independence is more likely when sources come from separate information ecosystems with no shared sources to copy

7. When two of your three sources agree on a claim but the third source contradicts it, what should you do next?

   1. Ignore the contradiction and find a fourth source that agrees with the majority
   2. Investigate why the sources disagree and look for additional context
   3. Delete the contradicting source from your research
   4. Go with the majority and use the two agreeing sources

8. What is a chain of citations?

   1. A legal document listing sources for evidence
   2. The process of writing footnotes in an academic paper
   3. When each source cites the previous source in a sequence, creating a linked trail
   4. A list of all books in a library database

9. Why is it recommended to find your third source from a different time period or country when possible?

   1. This helps break potential chains of citation and increases the chance of true independence
   2. Modern sources are easier to read online
   3. Foreign sources are more interesting to read
   4. Older sources are always more accurate

10. What specifically makes two sources "independent" of each other in the context of the three-source rule?

    1. They reached their conclusions through separate research or investigation, not by copying from each other
    2. They are published by different companies
    3. They are written by different authors
    4. One is from a book and one is from a website

11. What does it mean to corroborate a claim?

    1. To disagree with a claim
    2. To confirm a claim by providing supporting evidence from multiple sources
    3. To delete a claim from your research
    4. To translate a claim into another language

12. A fact-checking website states that a certain law was passed in 2020. You find two other websites that also say the law was passed in 2020, but all three reference the same congressional record. Is this strong evidence that the claim is true?

    1. No, because fact-checking websites are never reliable
    2. Yes, as long as the websites are well-known
    3. No, because the three sources are not independent—they all trace to one source
    4. Yes, because three websites agreeing is always reliable

13. What is the main risk when three sources all cite each other rather than conducting original research on a topic?

    1. The citations will be difficult to follow
    2. The sources will have different opinions
    3. An error in the original source can be propagated through all three
    4. The sources will be too short

14. A claim about a software product's features appears in three recent tech news articles. Why should you verify this information before making a decision based on it?

    1. Tech articles are never reliable
    2. Product features can change frequently, so verification ensures accuracy
    3. Three sources are never enough for product claims
    4. You should never make decisions based on news articles

15. What is the fundamental limitation of treating three different AI language models as three separate sources?

    1. AI models always lie
    2. AI models are trained on overlapping data and can repeat the same errors
    3. AI models are not intelligent enough to provide information
    4. AI models do not have opinions