C011 — Claim Definition¶


Research	R0002 — Research Standards for AI-Assisted Writing
Run	2026-03-13
Claim	C011

Claim as Received¶

Journalism and fact-checking are principles-based, not methodology-based. They lack formal evidence hierarchies, calibrated uncertainty scales, and structured bias assessment domains.

Claim as Clarified¶

Journalism and fact-checking operate on principles (broad ethical guidelines) rather than formal methodologies (structured, reproducible procedures). Specifically, they lack: (a) formal evidence hierarchies, (b) calibrated uncertainty scales, and (c) structured bias assessment domains. The claim embeds an assumption that IC and scientific research frameworks have these features and journalism does not — implying a gap that the hybrid prompt fills.

BLUF¶

Partially confirmed. The specific absences (formal evidence hierarchies, calibrated uncertainty scales, structured bias assessment domains) are well-supported. However, the principles-vs-methodology binary oversimplifies — fact-checking organizations do have published methodologies, verification procedures, and structured rating scales.

Scope¶

Domain: Journalism ethics / fact-checking methodology / epistemology
Timeframe: Contemporary — field is actively evolving (2025 epistemological framework paper)
Testability: Verifiable by examining professional codes, standards, and academic literature

Assessment Summary¶

Probability: Likely (68%)

Confidence: Medium

Hypothesis outcome: H2 (partially accurate) is the strongest hypothesis. The specific absences (011b, 011c, 011d) are well-supported. The principles-vs-methodology binary (011a) oversimplifies — fact-checking has methodological elements including published methodologies, verification procedures, and structured rating scales.

[Full assessment in assessment.md.]

Status¶

Field	Value
Date created	2026-03-13
Date completed	2026-03-13
Researcher profile	default
Prompt version	hybrid-prompt-test / full-prompt-run-07
Revisit by	2027-03-13
Revisit trigger	Emergence of formal methodological standards in fact-checking