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CCAO-F · Study Guide

← Domain 2: Output Evaluation and Validation

2.3 · Lesson 3 of 6

Fact-Checking and Validation

What you need to know

Validation means checking a claim against something independent of the model: the source of record. Self-reported confidence is not validation. Asking Claude to double-check its own answer is weaker than looking at the original document, system, or authority.

Source of record

Every important fact has an authoritative home: the signed contract, the live policy page, the financial system, the regulator’s text, the original report. Validation compares the claim to that home — not to another model reply.

Ask for evidence you can follow

Request a quoted passage, a named source, or the exact row behind a finding, then open that material yourself. Independent checks beat self-checks: a second reviewer or a separate lookup finds errors the first pass cannot see.

Prioritise by consequence

Scale effort to risk. A number in a board deck gets more checking than a brainstorm phrase. Legal, financial, and people-affecting claims sit at the top of the queue.

Worked example

Claude reports three headline findings from a spreadsheet export. For each figure, the analyst names the source of record, asks Claude to quote the supporting cell, and compares both to the file. One “finding” quotes a cell that does not exist — that claim is removed before the deck is shared. Asking “are you sure?” about the bad figure only produces a confident restatement.

Exam traps

  • Ask Claude "are you sure?" to validate

    That produces more fluent text, which may reaffirm an error. Open the source of record.

  • Treat a high confidence score as proof

    Self-reported confidence is not evidence. Trace the claim to a document, system, or authority.

  • Check every adjective with the same effort as every figure

    Prioritise by consequence: numbers, names, dates, legal and financial claims first.

  • Accept a quote Claude attributes without locating it

    Ask for the passage, then verify it exists. A quote you cannot find is itself a finding.

Practice scenario

A board deck will use Claude’s headline revenue figure from an uploaded export. What is the right validation move?

Choose one answer

Build exercise

Fact-Check a Report Against the Source of Record

2.3 · Intermediate · ~35 min · claude.ai

What you will practise

  • Which source is the source of record for a given claim.
  • Why asking Claude "are you sure?" is not validation.
  • How to ask for evidence you can check, such as quotes with locations.
  • How to use an independent check for high-stakes numbers.

Complete the Domain 2 exercise so your written validation sequence never relies on Claude’s confidence.

Open Domain 2 exercises

Path: /learn/claude-associate/exercises/2-output-evaluation-validation

Sources

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