5/07

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May 14, 2007

A discussion of fact checking with Guild members Lisa Gold and Carolyn McConnell
handout from the meeting

Carolyn McConnell

Fact checking varies by type of publication. Most organizations don’t have any dedicated fact checkers. Books are not fact checked at all by the publisher (the author is responsible for the accuracy of facts). Newspaper journalists check their own facts by virtue of their training and the expectations placed on them. Magazines however, are the most heavily fact-checked publication, and often have dedicated researchers or fact checkers. Therefore, a magazine is a more reliable source for facts than a newspaper.

Carolyn has experienced the gamut of fact checking in her career. She has checked facts and has had her facts checked (as a writer). As an intern for Sierra Magazine, she did fact checking for three months. The process started by circling every assertion of fact in an article, then hunting down and documenting the reference source. Later, as an editor at Yes! magazine, fact checking was more informal. There was no policy about what constituted a “fact.” While there, she assigned fact checking to interns when she deemed it necessary.

For her recent articles for Seattle Metropolitan magazine (April and May 2007 issues), Carolyn was shocked by the rigorous fact-checking requirements for her writing. She had not documented her references as she went along. Before turning in her first submission, she reread her contract and noticed that she was required to document all assertions of fact. Since that experience, she is careful to take notes on her references as she goes along to save time later. The onus is on the writer to cite sources, get permissions, etc.

Carolyn was not given specific guidelines by Seattle Metropolitan magazine for how to adequately document an assertion of fact, but she learned a lot about the process from working with the researchers and fact checkers and answering their questions. For example, she learned that Wikipedia is not a valid source! Carolyn had to track down little details, such as whether a certain neighborhood had 5 or 6 “picturesque cottages.” Another example is a statement she had made about the “nearest” school to a city (in an area near where she lived and was personally familiar with). The researcher checked distances online and found another school that was equidistant, so the sentence had to be revised.

In the end, the experience made Carolyn a more careful writer. Knowing that she was going to be fact checked caused her to be more precise and keep better records of her sources.

Lisa Gold

Because newspapers don’t fact check, they often have a long “corrections/retractions” section. Even then, they may not get it right. Lisa saw an incorrect fact in an article in the New York Times, then noticed that the correction was even more incorrect! She wrote the Times with the correct information, and they printed her correction and finally got it right. So, be careful about using newspapers as a source. Newspapers are also notorious for misspelling names.

So, how far should you take fact checking? Sometimes the line is blurred. How important are some facts? What if some facts are impossible to verify? If a writer described what someone was wearing at a party, and there were no photos, there is no way to verify. The level of fact checking and the criteria depend on the publication and the editor.

As a freelance editor, the more you know about how to research and verify facts, the more valuable you are. You need to know which sources are good and which should not be trusted. You should evaluate the date of a source. Has one study been contradicted by a more recent study? Also, question the source. Who paid for a study? What is their bias? What are their credentials? Can they be trusted?

When you evaluate a source, realize that not all sources are created equal. Don’t believe everything you read. Be particularly careful of the Internet, which lacks the controls and paper trail of other sources. For example, Lisa shared several stories about the pitfalls of Wikipedia, where anyone can edit information. Recently, the actor/comedian Sinbad was falsely reported as dead when media outlets picked up on a hoax Wikipedia posting and ran with the story. Many universities now ban the use of Wikipedia as a reference.

Statistics and polls are particularly tricky because they are easy to skew and quote out of context. What is the margin of error? What is the original context? Go back to the original source whenever possible. Also, don’t rely on one source. Confirm a fact with multiple sources when possible.

Even if you get something “straight from the horse’s mouth” as it were, there are no guarantees. Carolyn shared a story where a source that she was interviewing contradicted his own website. Further investigation revealed that he remembered the incident incorrectly, and had in fact reversed the details in his head!

Lisa discussed in detail her well-researched handout of books, references, websites, and excerpts about fact checking. (Click here to view the handout.) Lisa also commented on and passed around some of the books listed in the handout and printouts from some of the websites.

Conclusion

The topic of fact checking obviously struck a chord with the group. The discussion was lively and passionate. Everyone in attendance had some experience with fact checking in their professional career. There were many questions and comments, and several members shares their particular pet peeves about fact checking. Because fact checkers are almost obsolete (as a job title), the task of fact checking has fallen to writers, editors, journalists, and the like.

One of the challenges of fact checking is how few people care anymore, and how unappreciated fact checking is in our culture today. In a day when college graduates are functionally and culturally illiterate, and universities don’t teach the canon of classical literature anymore, many people don’t even recognize “obvious” errors of fact. Although editors are one of the last bastions of fact-checking fervor, the truth is that there is no such thing as a perfect source or a perfect fact.

Speaker bios

 Lisa Gold is a freelance researcher, writer, and editor, and she teaches workshops on research for writers. Her research clients include author Neal Stephenson, who described her as "an Indiana Jones of the world of letters." Her website is www.lisagold.com.

Carolyn McConnell is a former magazine editor who currently does freelance writing and editing and teaches writing in the UW Extension's nonfiction writing certificate program. Her heavily fact-checked writing can be found in the April and May issues of Seattle Metropolitan magazine.

Meeting notes by Betty Faulkner

 

Handout from the Meeting

Some useful reference sources for fact checking and research,

by Lisa Gold (www.lisagold.com)

About fact checking:

The Fact Checker’s Bible (2004), by Sarah Harrison Smith. The only book I know of on the subject of fact checking. The author was a New Yorker fact checker and is the head of checking for The New York Times Magazine. She explains how to read for accuracy, determine what to check, research the facts, assess sources (people, newspapers, magazines, books, databases, and the web), check quotations, work with authors and editors, etc. She also discusses how (or whether) specific publications are fact checked, and provides a brief list of recommended sources.

http://parklibrary.jomc.unc.edu/factcheckers2004.html: The website for the 2004 UNC School of Journalism conference on “Fact Checkers & Copy Editors,” with information about fact checking, links to reference sources, and a bibliography.

http://www.ibiblio.org/copyediting/tips.html: “44 Tips for Greater Accuracy: How to avoid mechanical/objective errors in your newspaper.” A good list of tips for fact checkers, editors, and writers.   

http://www.newsobserver.com/554/index.html: Fact-checking tips and pitfalls from the editors of The News & Observer newspaper.

Books to help you find information and reference sources:

The Facts on File Guide to Research (2005), by Jeff Lenburg. This comprehensive research guide focuses on finding sources of information (not only in print and on the web, but also through databases, libraries, archives, government agencies, organizations, etc.) and contains detailed lists of reference sources by subject.

Facts in a Flash: A Research Guide for Writers, From Cruising the Stacks to Surfing the Net (1999), by Ellen Metter. (Out of print, but copies are easily acquirable on the web.) Written by a reference librarian, this user-friendly research guide has annotated lists of reference sources by subject.  

The Oxford Guide to Library Research: How to Find Reliable Information Online and Offline (2005, 3rd edition), by Thomas Mann. Written by a reference librarian at the Library of Congress, this book explores the wide range of sources available in libraries, how to use them to find what you are looking for, and why they are superior to just searching the web. As Mann notes, “research libraries contain vast ranges of printed books, copyrighted materials in a variety of other formats, and site-licensed subscription databases that are not accessible from anywhere, at anytime, by anybody on the web.”

Find It Online: The Complete Guide to Online Research (4th ed., 2004), by Alan M. Schlein. Contains annotated lists of online reference sources and information on general search tools (search engines, subject directories, meta-search tools), specialized research tools, government resources, public records, news resources, business resources, international research, etc.

Research for Writers (7th edition, 2003), by Ann Hoffmann. This research guide was published in the UK and lists British and international reference sources not usually mentioned in American publications.

Reference Websites:

http://www.refdesk.com: This site describes itself as “the single best source for facts on the Net.” It is a truly vast online reference directory, with links to thousands of websites, information sources, and research tools.

http://www.nypl.org/links/index.cfm: The New York Public Library’s “Best of the Web.”

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/navigator/index.html: New York Times Navigator: A Selective Guide to the Internet, “the home page used by the newsroom of The New York Times for forays into the Web.”

http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/reference/: Special Libraries Association News Division list of reference tools for news librarians and researchers, including essential books, news archives on the web, top websites for journalists, and expert sources.

http://www.martindalecenter.com: Martindale’s Reference Desk, an unusual collection of links, with an emphasis on science and technology.

http://home.insightbb.com/~d.lawson: Deborah Lawson’s Historical Research Page. A great site for all kinds of detailed historical research (history, timelines, maps, money, weapons, clothing, food and drink, etiquette, language and slang, law, occupations, inventions, postal history, transportation, diaries and letters, historical newspapers and magazines, etc.).

http://www.digital-librarian.com: A librarian’s choice of the best of the web.

http://www.ipl.org: Internet Public Library, go to “Ready Reference” links.

http://www.lii.org: Librarians’ Internet Index.

http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/resources/lrc/cover.htm: Librarians’ Resource Centre.

http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc: Diane Hacker’s Research and Documentation Online. This site has excellent information on finding, documenting, and evaluating sources in the humanities, social sciences, history, and sciences.

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html: CIA World Fact Book.

http://www.fedstats.gov: Statistics from government agencies.

http://www.fedworld.gov: Portal to government information and websites.

Search Engines:

http://www.google.com: Still the best. Check out their special search features, such as book search, blog search, news search, scholarly paper search, image search, etc. 

http://www.searchenginewatch.com: A website about search engines, with ratings, search tips, links to specialty search engines, etc.

Libraries: 

Many libraries offer free “Ask a Librarian” services so you can ask research questions by email or live web chat any time of the day or night.

http://www.spl.org: Seattle Public Library. If you have a library card, you can access nearly all of their online databases and journals from home, including the historical New York Times, the Oxford English Dictionary, ProQuest, Britannica Online, the AP Photo Archive, etc. Their “Chat with a Librarian” service can be found at http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=info_ask.

http://www.lib.washington.edu: University of Washington Libraries. Anyone can use the computers in the UW libraries to access their online databases and journals. Check out the “Resources” section of the site. Their “Q&A Live” online reference service can be found at http://www.lib.washington.edu/about/contacts.html.

http://www.loc.gov: The Library of Congress. They offer many resources for researchers, including collection and research guides, bibliographies, and digital historical collections. Their “Ask a Librarian” service can be found at http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/. 

 http://www.libraryspot.com: Links to libraries all over the world.

Searchable electronic texts of reference and literary works:

http://www.bartleby.com: Free access to many useful texts and reference works.

http://www.gutenberg.org: Project Gutenberg, free electronic books in the public domain.

http://www.books.google.com: Google’s Book Search allows you to search the full text of the books in its database (scans of books from cooperating libraries or files from publishers). For books in the public domain (published in the U.S. before 1923), you can read as much as you like and download or print it. Most books under copyright have restrictions on the number of pages you can view and do not allow you to print.  

http://www.questia.com: Subscription online library with the full texts of 67,000 books (under copyright and in the public domain), 1.5 million articles, and reference books.

Online sources for new, used, or out-of-print books:

 http://www.amazon.com: An inexpensive place to buy both new and used books. (Amazon also has a “search inside this book” feature.

  http://www.bookfinder.com: Searches multiple used, rare, and out-of-print book sites.

 

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