A client recently asked me whether a freelance proofreader should be expected to verify matters of content in a report or article. For example, a report may claim that “studies indicate that college-educated people have fewer children.” Is the freelance proofreader required to verify this statement?
The answer I gave was that freelance editors and proofreaders are generally responsible for correcting obvious visible mistakes, such as the spelling of a well-known person’s name. This is the kind of thing that can be verified in seconds by using Google or Wikipedia, and we all do it routinely.
When I work for Target Direct Marketing, one of my long-term and valued clients, we proofread direct-mail letters several times. As part of the process we are often required to verify phone numbers, URLs, addresses, and other specific content. This is usually a simple matter: you just dial the phone number or go online to the URL.
Matters of non-specific content are very different. To verify what studies may or may not have produced certain results can take hours of research. Most freelance proofreaders are not paid by the hour, they are paid a flat rate. So you can see how this presents a problem. Unless you agree to pay an hourly rate for research, it’s not something that an ethical proofreader will agree to do. And even if the proofreader claimed to have done the research, you, the client, have absolutely no guarantee that the work was done reliably. A proofreader could say, “I spent three hours verifying these statements,” but you have no guarantee unless the sources are provided.
The only difference is in academic or peer-reviewed papers, where the research is fully cited.
If you hire a ghostwriter to produce a report, then you have some expectation of veracity, but as always, buyer beware.
And, not to sound cynical, but everyone knows that a “recent study” can be found to prove just about anything!
Thomas Hauck – ghostwriter, editor, proofreader. From his office in Gloucester, MA, an hour north of Boston, editor Thomas Hauck provides professional proofreading, book editing, and ghostwriting services for authors in the Boston area, New England, the United States, and worldwide. For unmatched personal service, contact Thomas Hauck today.