Each year Chicago Professor and Journalist David Protess and his journalism class go through scores of cases of people on death row. . . .His lessons include: assume nothing; go directly to sources; do not rely on official accounts.

. . . the circles of corroboration.

In the outer circle are secondary source documents, things like press accounts. The next circle in is primary source documents, trial documents like testimony and statements. The third circle in is real people, witnesses. In the inner circle are what Protess calls "The Targets":

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[the] lesson Protess teaches is the journalist should constantly monitor each step of the process. Don't let things disappear unless you know why they have disappeared. Don't just take others people's word for it.

1.    Primary sources.  

In every instance the horse's mouth is preferable to the other end.  If you are researching an individual, and find a quote in a news article, attempt to contact the person quoted.  Call them to verify the quote if possible, or verify the quote from at least two other reliable sources.  

When numbers are involved, it's wise to remember that there are "lies, damn lies, and statistics."  Even in stories published the same day by the same organization, numbers may not match.

Any official record of any organization, including the government and private entities are primary sources.  Corporate minutes, records on file with a government agency, and even WHOIS searches can be used as primary sources.

2.    Secondary sources.

If for whatever reason you are unable to verify information through the prime source, use secondary sources, but note the prime source was "unavailable" or "did not return calls."  A secondary source can be writing by the source, past comments on the record, and/or speeches or press releases by the source's company or agency.

3.    Hearsay.  Never cite a third party quote, or a news article quoting the target of your research.  If the news org doesn't have the necessary information to contact the source, contact the reporter and ask.

4.    Quotes.  Quoting short passages from larger articles is accepted practice, longer and/or complete articles violate the Fair Use provisions of the Copyright law.  Likewise, there is a very thin line between paraphrasing and plagarism.  If you have any doubts, provide attribution.

5.    Images.  In all cases, unless you're the one who took the picture, provide attribution to the original source, even if you've slightly modified the image.

6.    Form & Function.  Citing sources within an article using links is a common practice, but not necessarily the best practice.  Both academic and legal articles rely heavily on footnotes and are generally easier on the eyes (superscript numbers) than links embedded in text.  Either method seems to be acceptable, but for longer articles, footnotes are probably better than embedded links.

General Notes

Opinion.  Opinions are better left to the editorial page.  Researching should be an objective exercise, not a subjective search.  Articles that are written from only one perspective, rather than a full view from all sides are opinion.  Simple rule is "just the facts, ma'am."

5W's and an H.  The first hour of the first day of Journalism 101, that little phrase will become embedded in your mind.  Who, what, where, when, why, and how.  And all of those elements in the first paragraph?  Yes, and usually in three sentences or less.

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