Research workflow tool

Verify Whether a Citation Is Real and Supports the Claim

Check whether a reference exists, whether its title, authors, year, DOI, or PMID match, and whether the source is relevant to the claim beside it.

Paste one or more citations to verify, one reference per line...
Try an example:

LitSource checks traceable records and metadata; inspect source context before deciding whether a paper supports a claim.

Existence check

Confirm that a citation maps to a real record before deeper inspection.

Mismatch detection

Surface suspicious differences between the citation and the source record.

Submission protection

Use the page to reduce citation risk before final review or submission.

Preview

Paste a citation, then check whether the record exists and the metadata lines up.

Video

What it does

Existence check

Next step

Continue to the tool that matches your task

Capabilities

Move from a claim to traceable sources with less friction

Find supporting literature, inspect source details, and continue with the right research workflow.

01
Existence check
Confirm that a citation maps to a real record before deeper inspection.
02
Mismatch detection
Surface suspicious differences between the citation and the source record.
03
Submission protection
Use the page to reduce citation risk before final review or submission.

Use cases

How people use it

Use LitSource when you already know which claim, citation, or reference list you need to investigate.

1
Pre-submission review
Check references before a manuscript leaves your desk.
2
Respond to reviewer feedback
Verify that cited papers really support the claims in the draft.
3
Audit a citation list
Look for fabricated, mismatched, or low-confidence references.

FAQ

Questions before you start

Review common questions before searching for sources or checking citations.

Related workflows

Continue with nearby research checks

Move between source discovery and citation verification workflows without returning to the home page.

Ready to continue

Continue with the right research tool

Start searching for sources or checking citations in LitSource.

Verify a Citation | Check Existence, Metadata, and Relevance