To check a makhana claim, follow its link to the original record, find the passage that supports it, and compare the wording. Keep the author, event status, date, place, unit and product form attached to the claim. A credible institution's name beside a sentence is a starting point; the cited passage must still answer that particular sentence.
A worksheet you can reuse
Start with one sentence, not the whole article. Copy it into your notes, then fill in the fields below. If a sentence contains several claims, split them: an event date, a production quantity and a conclusion about a product may need different evidence.
| Field | What to write down | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Exact claim | The sentence you want to check. | What would have to be true for this wording to hold? |
| Source roles | Named author, publisher and website hosting the copy. | Whose statement is it? |
| Locator | Document title, URL, page or section, and date accessed. | Can another reader find the same passage? |
| Dates | Publication date, event date and data period, where supplied. | Have different kinds of date been substituted for each other? |
| Scope | Place, population or product; quantity, unit and qualifiers. | Has a narrow observation become a broader claim? |
| Status | Proposed, reported as completed, estimated or otherwise qualified. | Does the retelling preserve the original status? |
| Verdict | Supported as written, needs narrower wording, or unresolved. | What exact evidence is still missing? |
You do not need to copy whole paragraphs. Save a short locator and your own explanation of how the passage supports the claim. The three examples below were checked on 8 October 2026.
Example 1: the website host is not the author field
APEDA hosts Strategies to Boost India's Makhana Exports, first published in 2025. Its title page names Harsh Wardhan and four co-authors. The publication page names AF Press in association with ICRIER; the foreword describes a joint ICRIER–APEDA study. The disclaimer assigns the opinions and recommendations to the authors. Check PDF pages 4–5 and 10.
Worksheet result: record these roles separately. A web address locates a copy; it does not replace the attribution printed inside it. For a particular recommendation, inspect the relevant passage before presenting it as an institution's adopted policy. Likewise, several websites linking the same report are several routes to one work, not several independent confirmations.
Example 2: a meeting happened; a festival was proposed
ICAR's account dated 5 September 2022 reports a makhana stakeholders' meeting in Darbhanga. It also records Dr S. N. Jha calling for a Makhana Mahotsav on the occasion of Kojagara. Those are different statements: a reported meeting and a proposal for another event. Read the meeting account, especially the paragraph about Dr Jha.
Worksheet result: this page supports the meeting and the recorded call. It does not establish that the proposed Mahotsav subsequently took place. To write a sentence saying it happened, find a record reporting the event itself. Until then, keep the proposal wording. “Not established by this source” is also different from “never happened”.
This is a useful verb check: underline words such as proposed, announced, approved, began and completed. Changing one can change the factual claim even when every name and date remains the same.
Example 3: keep the date, quantity and geography together
An ICAR article dated 15 November 2013 reports an approximate seed yield of 21,000 tonnes across nine named Bihar districts. The relevant passage does not separately label a crop year. Read the paragraph beginning with integrated makhana cultivation.
Enter the number into the worksheet with its full context:
- When: a statement in a 2013 article; do not invent a separately specified harvest period.
- What and how much: an approximate seed-yield quantity in tonnes.
- Where: the nine districts listed in that passage.
- What remains unsupported: a current national total, a quantity of finished popped snacks, or a particular seller's sourcing.
Worksheet result: preserve the dated, geographically limited seed figure if that is what your story needs. For a current national statistic, seek a current record with that coverage. Opening an old article today does not update its numbers.
Follow the chain, then stop at the evidence
If an article credits a table to another report, follow that reference when you need to verify the underlying number. Keep both layers in your notes: where you found the claim and where the data originated. A search-result excerpt can help locate the document, but it may omit the surrounding qualification or table heading.
When a source is unavailable, record the failed link and what you could actually inspect. Try the publisher's own catalogue or archive using the title and author. If you find a different edition, check the passage again; matching titles alone do not establish matching content. Mark the claim unresolved when the necessary original remains inaccessible.
A finished check should leave you with a sentence no broader than its evidence, a retrievable locator and an explicit remaining gap. For regional context, use our Mithila history guide. For the specific fields and dates of the GI record, use the GI-record reading guide. This worksheet helps you follow the citation; those guides answer the underlying subject questions.