Source Check: verify references against Crossref
Paste up to 20 references or DOIs. Each one is matched against Crossref by DOI, title, author and year, and marked verified, partial or not found.
Six details compared for every reference
The tool shows what Crossref holds and where your entry differs.
DOI
A DOI in your entry is resolved to its record. A search by title and author finds the closest record when there is no DOI.
Title
Your title is compared with the Crossref title. Shortened titles and subtitles are tolerated, different papers are not.
First author
The surname of the first author in the record must appear in your entry. Missing or misspelled names are flagged.
Year
Years in your entry are compared with the print and online dates. A year that matches neither is marked as a difference.
Corrections and retractions
If Crossref links a correction, update or retraction notice to the record, the result shows it so you can check the publisher page.
CSV export
Download your input, the matched metadata, the DOI and the check time as a CSV file for your own records.
From bibliography to verified list in three steps
Paste your references
Put one reference or DOI on each line. Up to 20 per run, each up to 1,500 characters.
Read each result
Every line gets a status, the matched record and a field by field comparison with your entry.
Open the original
Follow the DOI link, compare the details and fix your list. Export the results as CSV if you need them later.
What this tool does not do
It checks the record, not the argument
A match shows that a publication with these details exists. It does not show that the work is good, relevant or cited correctly in your text.
It cannot prove a source is invented
Crossref misses many books, reports, websites and theses. A not found result is a prompt to look further, not a verdict. To check your own writing for copied passages, use the plagiarism scan.
Questions about the Source Check
Yes. You can check up to 20 references per run without an account and without paying. There is a fair-use limit on how many runs one connection can make in a short time.
Verified means the Crossref record agrees with what you entered: title, first author surname and year match, or you pasted only a DOI and it resolves. Partial means a record exists but something differs or could not be confirmed, or the record carries a correction or retraction notice. Not found means Crossref returned no record that fits your entry.
No. Crossref does not list every book, report, website or conference paper. Check the spelling and the DOI, then search the publisher or your library. A missing record is a reason to look closer, not proof that a source is invented.
Anything registered with a DOI through Crossref: most journal articles, many books and book chapters, and many conference papers. Websites, newspaper articles, theses without a DOI, archive material and works registered with other agencies such as DataCite are usually not covered.
Each reference is sent from our server to Crossref to look up the record. We do not save your references and there is no account. To limit abuse, we count requests per connection for a few minutes using a one-way hash of the address. Paste bibliography entries only, not unpublished text.
No. The tool compares bibliographic details only. It does not judge quality, relevance, citation style or whether you quoted or paraphrased the work correctly. You still need to read the original passage.
Sources verified. Now check the text.
A plagiarism scan compares your paper with about 70 billion public sources. Results in 15 minutes from $0.29 per page.
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