Research and monitoring with AI: finding, citing and checking sources

1Three research modes

You can get information from an assistant in three ways, of very different reliability:

• From memory (no search): the model answers from its training. Fast, but without a verifiable source and limited to the knowledge date. Reserve it for general notions.
• Web search: the assistant queries a search engine, reads a few pages and answers with links. Useful for current affairs and precise facts; quality depends on the pages found.
• In-depth research (Deep Research-type features in Gemini, Research mode in Claude, depending on the plan): the assistant plans a search, consults dozens of sources and produces a structured report with citations, in a few minutes.

In addition to these modes there is work on your own sources: you gather reliable documents (agency reports, analyses by recognised bodies) and upload them to NotebookLM or a Claude Project. This is often the most reliable method for serious analysis.

2Assessing cited sources

A citation is not a guarantee. Check:

• Does the link exist and does it really say what the assistant claims? Open it. A real source is sometimes cited for a statement it does not contain.
• Who publishes? UN agencies, governments, recognised humanitarian analysis bodies (for example ReliefWeb for aggregation, OCHA, ACAPS, IPC, IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix), research institutes, established media, or an anonymous blog?
• When? A humanitarian situation changes fast; a figure from last year may be wrong today.
• What method? Estimate, survey, projection? With what geographical coverage?
• Independence: is the source a stakeholder (party to the conflict, interested company)?

Rule: any statement that goes into an official document (proposal, report, advocacy) is checked at the primary source, not in the AI's summary.

3Effective monitoring

Monitoring (funding, policies, the situation in a country, technical developments) is a very worthwhile use:

• define precise questions: "Which new calls for proposals for nutrition in West Africa have been published in the last 30 days on donors' official websites?" rather than "What's new?";
• impose sources: "Use ReliefWeb, UN agency websites and donors' official websites as a priority";
• require a format: table date / source / title / one-line summary / link;
• keep a shared monitoring log in which each item is checked before circulation.

Some plans allow scheduled tasks or regular summaries; they must remain under the responsibility of a person who checks before sharing.

4Context analysis

For a context note (new area of operation, proposal preparation, briefing a newcomer), a four-step method:

• 1. Framework: ask for a structure (politics, general security, economy, demography, humanitarian needs by sector, actors, access, seasonality).
• 2. Sources: run in-depth research, then select the reliable sources yourself.
• 3. Synthesis from these sources only, with citations.
• 4. Validation by colleagues in the country and local partners, who know what no online source says.

Online sources on a local context are often scarce, old or written from outside. Local actors, national NGOs and communities are essential sources: AI does not replace them.

5Limits and pitfalls

• Uneven coverage: high-profile crises are well documented; "forgotten crises" much less so. AI reflects this inequality.
• Languages: sources in local languages are found less often. Explicitly ask for sources in the country's language.
• Paid or closed content: much humanitarian data sits on restricted-access platforms; AI cannot see it, and must not access it without authorisation.
• Repetition effect: a figure repeated by ten websites often comes from a single primary source, sometimes an old one.
• Sensitive topics: for political or conflict-related topics, compare several sources with different perspectives and keep neutral vocabulary.

Example. The assistant states "2.3 million people in need" and cites three press articles. Tracing back, all three cite the same Humanitarian Needs Overview from the previous year. The right reflex: look for the latest version of that document and cite the primary source directly, with its date.

6Citing correctly

In a professional document:

• cite the primary source (the body that produced the figure), with title, date and link;
• do not cite "according to Claude" or "according to Gemini" as the source of a fact: the assistant is not a source, it is a tool;
• give the date of access for web pages;
• follow the required citation style (donor, journal, organisation).

You can ask AI to format your references in a given style, then check each element (author, title, year, link).