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Citation Quality Checklist

Citation Quality Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure your citations are accurate, complete, and properly formatted before final submission.

Pre-Submission Checklist

✓ Metadata Accuracy

[ ] All author names are correct and properly formatted
[ ] Article titles match the actual publication
[ ] Journal/conference names are complete (not abbreviated unless required)
[ ] Publication years are accurate
[ ] Volume and issue numbers are correct
[ ] Page ranges are accurate

✓ Required Fields

[ ] All @article entries have: author, title, journal, year
[ ] All @book entries have: author/editor, title, publisher, year
[ ] All @inproceedings entries have: author, title, booktitle, year
[ ] Modern papers (2000+) include DOI when available
[ ] All entries have unique citation keys

✓ DOI Verification

[ ] All DOIs are properly formatted (10.XXXX/...)
[ ] DOIs resolve correctly to the article
[ ] No DOI prefix in the BibTeX field (no "doi:" or "https://doi.org/")
[ ] Metadata from CrossRef matches your BibTeX entry
[ ] Run: python scripts/validate_citations.py references.bib --check-dois

✓ Formatting Consistency

[ ] Page ranges use double hyphen (--) not single (-)
[ ] No "pp." prefix in pages field
[ ] Author names use "and" separator (not semicolon or ampersand)
[ ] Capitalization protected in titles ({AlphaFold}, {CRISPR}, etc.)
[ ] Month names use standard abbreviations if included
[ ] Citation keys follow consistent format

✓ Duplicate Detection

[ ] No duplicate DOIs in bibliography
[ ] No duplicate citation keys
[ ] No near-duplicate titles
[ ] Preprints updated to published versions when available
[ ] Run: python scripts/validate_citations.py references.bib

✓ Special Characters

[ ] Accented characters properly formatted (e.g., {\"u} for ü)
[ ] Mathematical symbols use LaTeX commands
[ ] Chemical formulas properly formatted
[ ] No unescaped special characters (%, &, $, #, etc.)

✓ BibTeX Syntax

[ ] All entries have balanced braces {}
[ ] Fields separated by commas
[ ] No comma after last field in each entry
[ ] Valid entry types (@article, @book, etc.)
[ ] Run: python scripts/validate_citations.py references.bib

✓ File Organization

[ ] Bibliography sorted in logical order (by year, author, or key)
[ ] Consistent formatting throughout
[ ] No formatting inconsistencies between entries
[ ] Run: python scripts/format_bibtex.py references.bib --sort year

Automated Validation

Step 1: Format and Clean

python scripts/format_bibtex.py references.bib \
  --deduplicate \
  --sort year \
  --descending \
  --output clean_references.bib

What this does: - Removes duplicates - Standardizes formatting - Fixes common issues (page ranges, DOI format, etc.) - Sorts by year (newest first)

Step 2: Validate

python scripts/validate_citations.py clean_references.bib \
  --check-dois \
  --report validation_report.json \
  --verbose

What this does: - Checks required fields - Verifies DOIs resolve - Detects duplicates - Validates syntax - Generates detailed report

Step 3: Review Report

cat validation_report.json

Address any: - Errors: Must fix (missing fields, broken DOIs, syntax errors) - Warnings: Should fix (missing recommended fields, formatting issues) - Duplicates: Remove or consolidate

Step 4: Final Check

python scripts/validate_citations.py clean_references.bib --verbose

Goal: Zero errors, minimal warnings

Manual Review Checklist

Critical Citations (Top 10-20 Most Important)

For your most important citations, manually verify:

[ ] Visit DOI link and confirm it's the correct article
[ ] Check author names against the actual publication
[ ] Verify year matches publication date
[ ] Confirm journal/conference name is correct
[ ] Check that volume/pages match

Common Issues to Watch For

Missing Information: - [ ] No DOI for papers published after 2000 - [ ] Missing volume or page numbers for journal articles - [ ] Missing publisher for books - [ ] Missing conference location for proceedings

Formatting Errors: - [ ] Single hyphen in page ranges (123-145 → 123--145) - [ ] Ampersands in author lists (Smith & Jones → Smith and Jones) - [ ] Unprotected acronyms in titles (DNA → {DNA}) - [ ] DOI includes URL prefix (https://doi.org/10.xxx → 10.xxx)

Metadata Mismatches: - [ ] Author names differ from publication - [ ] Year is online-first instead of print publication - [ ] Journal name abbreviated when it should be full - [ ] Volume/issue numbers swapped

Duplicates: - [ ] Same paper cited with different citation keys - [ ] Preprint and published version both cited - [ ] Conference paper and journal version both cited

Field-Specific Checks

Biomedical Sciences

[ ] PubMed Central ID (PMCID) included when available
[ ] MeSH terms appropriate (if using)
[ ] Clinical trial registration number included (if applicable)
[ ] All references to treatments/drugs accurately cited

Computer Science

[ ] arXiv ID included for preprints
[ ] Conference proceedings properly cited (not just "NeurIPS")
[ ] Software/dataset citations include version numbers
[ ] GitHub links stable and permanent

General Sciences

[ ] Data availability statements properly cited
[ ] Retracted papers identified and removed
[ ] Preprints checked for published versions
[ ] Supplementary materials referenced if critical

Final Pre-Submission Steps

1 Week Before Submission

[ ] Run full validation with DOI checking
[ ] Fix all errors and critical warnings
[ ] Manually verify top 10-20 most important citations
[ ] Check for any retracted papers

3 Days Before Submission

[ ] Re-run validation after any manual edits
[ ] Ensure all in-text citations have corresponding bibliography entries
[ ] Ensure all bibliography entries are cited in text
[ ] Check citation style matches journal requirements

1 Day Before Submission

[ ] Final validation check
[ ] LaTeX compilation successful with no warnings
[ ] PDF renders all citations correctly
[ ] Bibliography appears in correct format
[ ] No placeholder citations (Smith et al. XXXX)

Submission Day

[ ] One final validation run
[ ] No last-minute edits without re-validation
[ ] Bibliography file included in submission package
[ ] Figures/tables referenced in text match bibliography

Quality Metrics

Excellent Bibliography

✓ 100% of entries have DOIs (for modern papers)
✓ Zero validation errors
✓ Zero missing required fields
✓ Zero broken DOIs
✓ Zero duplicates
✓ Consistent formatting throughout
✓ All citations manually spot-checked

Acceptable Bibliography

✓ 90%+ of modern entries have DOIs
✓ Zero high-severity errors
✓ Minor warnings only (e.g., missing recommended fields)
✓ Key citations manually verified
✓ Compilation succeeds without errors

Needs Improvement

✗ Missing DOIs for recent papers
✗ High-severity validation errors
✗ Broken or incorrect DOIs
✗ Duplicate entries
✗ Inconsistent formatting
✗ Compilation warnings or errors

Emergency Fixes

If you discover issues at the last minute:

Broken DOI

# Find correct DOI
# Option 1: Search CrossRef
# https://www.crossref.org/

# Option 2: Search on publisher website
# Option 3: Google Scholar

# Re-extract metadata
python scripts/extract_metadata.py --doi CORRECT_DOI

Missing Information

# Extract from DOI
python scripts/extract_metadata.py --doi 10.xxxx/yyyy

# Or from PMID (biomedical)
python scripts/extract_metadata.py --pmid 12345678

# Or from arXiv
python scripts/extract_metadata.py --arxiv 2103.12345

Duplicate Entries

# Auto-remove duplicates
python scripts/format_bibtex.py references.bib \
  --deduplicate \
  --output fixed_references.bib

Formatting Errors

# Auto-fix common issues
python scripts/format_bibtex.py references.bib \
  --output fixed_references.bib

# Then validate
python scripts/validate_citations.py fixed_references.bib

Long-Term Best Practices

During Research

[ ] Add citations to bibliography file as you find them
[ ] Extract metadata immediately using DOI
[ ] Validate after every 10-20 additions
[ ] Keep bibliography file under version control

During Writing

[ ] Cite as you write
[ ] Use consistent citation keys
[ ] Don't delay adding references
[ ] Validate weekly

Before Submission

[ ] Allow 2-3 days for citation cleanup
[ ] Don't wait until the last day
[ ] Automate what you can
[ ] Manually verify critical citations

Tool Quick Reference

Extract Metadata

# From DOI
python scripts/doi_to_bibtex.py 10.1038/nature12345

# From multiple sources
python scripts/extract_metadata.py \
  --doi 10.1038/nature12345 \
  --pmid 12345678 \
  --arxiv 2103.12345 \
  --output references.bib

Validate

# Basic validation
python scripts/validate_citations.py references.bib

# With DOI checking (slow but thorough)
python scripts/validate_citations.py references.bib --check-dois

# Generate report
python scripts/validate_citations.py references.bib \
  --report validation.json \
  --verbose

Format and Clean

# Format and fix issues
python scripts/format_bibtex.py references.bib

# Remove duplicates and sort
python scripts/format_bibtex.py references.bib \
  --deduplicate \
  --sort year \
  --descending \
  --output clean_refs.bib

Summary

Minimum Requirements: 1. Run format_bibtex.py --deduplicate 2. Run validate_citations.py 3. Fix all errors 4. Compile successfully

Recommended: 1. Format, deduplicate, and sort 2. Validate with --check-dois 3. Fix all errors and warnings 4. Manually verify top citations 5. Re-validate after fixes

Best Practice: 1. Validate throughout research process 2. Use automated tools consistently 3. Keep bibliography clean and organized 4. Document any special cases 5. Final validation 1-3 days before submission

Remember: Citation errors reflect poorly on your scholarship. Taking time to ensure accuracy is worthwhile!