Answer with cited public sources — procedure

Procedure for answering factual public-world questions with cited authoritative sources, stable locators, and fail-closed behavior when evidence is missing.

Purpose

This guide shows how to run a cited-source factual-answer workflow. It separates public-world claims from local-state claims, defines admissible source types, sets the runtime prompt contract, and verifies that the final answer is source-supported rather than completed from memory or inference.

When to use this

Use this section to decide whether this workflow is the right fit before you configure prompts, policies, or reference material.

Use case
The answer makes factual public-world claims
Use this when the response states facts about technologies, standards, official documentation, research findings, public policies, vendors, tools, or other externally verifiable subjects.
Use case
The answer requires authoritative evidence
Use this when generic web pages are not enough and material claims must be supported by standards, official documentation, peer-reviewed papers, textbooks, or recognized institutions.
Use case
The answer needs stable source locators
Use this when citations should include locators such as standard identifier and section, DOI, ISBN with edition and section, official documentation version or date, or an equivalent stable locator.
Use case
Missing evidence must stop the answer
Use this when the workflow must return a fail-closed result instead of guessing, approximating, or softening unsupported claims.

Workflow assets

Required workflow assets

Open the prompts, policies, and reference pages needed to run this workflow correctly.

Required prompt
Cited authoritative sources
Requires material public-world factual claims to cite authoritative sources with stable locators and to fail closed when evidence is missing.
Type: Instruction-layer prompt component
Belongs in: Instruction layer
Use when: The answer may use public sources and factual claims require authoritative support.
Open prompt
Optional prompt
Use web search when current facts matter
Adds a retrieval step when sources must be found, refreshed, or checked against current public information.
Type: Runtime prompt template
Belongs in: Runtime prompt layer
Use when: The answer depends on current, changing, specialized, or externally verifiable facts.
Open prompt
Optional reference
Prompt layers and policy mapping
Use when deciding whether a rule belongs in stable instructions, runtime prompts, reference material, or verification checks.
Type: Configuration reference
Open reference

Implementation procedure

Step-by-step implementation procedure

Follow the workflow in order. Each step gives one action and one verification check before continuing.

  1. Source boundary

    Separate public-world claims from local-state claims

    Classify the request before answering.

    Action
    Use public sources only for public-world facts. Use user-provided files, repository content, logs, screenshots, or tool output for local-state claims.
    Verify
    No public source is used as proof of what exists in the current repo, uploaded file, screenshot, log, private system, or chat state.

  2. Runtime prompt layer

    Define the factual-answer contract

    State the question, source standard, source locator requirement, and stopping condition.

    Action
    Specify the required source classes, date or version boundary, jurisdiction if relevant, and the exact fail-closed behavior for missing evidence.
    Verify
    The prompt includes goal, evidence boundary, output format, and stop condition.

  3. Instruction layer

    Apply the cited-source component

    Add the reusable cited-source rule before generating the answer.

    Action
    Use the cited authoritative sources component as the instruction-layer rule for the run.
    Verify
    The run explicitly requires authoritative sources for material public-world factual claims.
    Open prompt

  4. Reference layer

    Use an admissible source hierarchy

    Prefer sources that are authoritative for the exact claim.

    Action
    Prioritize standards, official documentation, peer-reviewed papers, textbooks, laws or regulations where relevant, and recognized institutions. Use secondary sources only for context unless they are the best available admissible source for the claim.
    Verify
    Each material source is authoritative for the specific claim it supports.

  5. Runtime prompt layer

    Retrieve sources only when needed

    Use web search or retrieval when the answer depends on current, changing, specialized, or missing public evidence.

    Action
    Add a web-search prompt only when the required sources are not already provided or when freshness matters.
    Verify
    The workflow does not claim that search or retrieval occurred unless it actually occurred.
    Open web-search prompt

  6. Verification layer

    Map claims to sources

    Check the answer before publishing or using it.

    Action
    For every material public-world claim, verify that the cited source directly supports the exact statement. Remove unsupported claims or return the fail-closed result.
    Verify
    No material public-world claim remains without direct source support.

  7. Verification layer

    Return fail-closed when evidence is insufficient

    Stop instead of guessing when the required evidence is missing.

    Action
    Use the fail-closed result when the core claim cannot be supported by admissible sources.
    Verify
    Unsupported core claims are not completed from memory, inference, plausibility, or weak sources.

Verification checklist

Use this checklist before accepting the output, publishing it, or using it as evidence for a downstream workflow.

Boundary check
The answer separates public-world facts from local-state facts
Public sources support public-world claims only. Local files, logs, screenshots, repositories, and chat-specific state require direct local evidence.
Source-quality check
Each material source is admissible
Core claims use standards, official documentation, peer-reviewed papers, textbooks, laws or regulations where relevant, or recognized institutions.
Locator check
Citations include stable locators
Use DOI, standard identifier and section, ISBN with edition and section, official documentation version or date, legal locator, or an equivalent stable locator when applicable.
Claim-source alignment check
Each citation supports the exact claim
No citation is attached to a claim that the source only indirectly, partially, or generally supports.
Freshness check
Current or version-sensitive claims use current evidence
Claims about active products, APIs, laws, prices, roles, or current documentation use sources appropriate to the required date or version.
Disagreement check
Material source disagreement is surfaced
When authoritative sources conflict, the answer states that the evidence is mixed or disputed and cites the relevant sides.
Fail-closed check
Unsupported core claims stop
If admissible evidence is missing for a core claim, the answer fails closed instead of guessing.

Next step