No generative AI
Checks are structured and rule-based, not generated by an AI model.
Structured checks. Clear findings. Human judgement.
What Ref-Check does
Check your references. Improve your citations. Share for feedback.
Ref-Check helps students, academics, editors and professionals identify citation and reference issues, investigate scholarly source details and understand potential formatting problems. You can also securely share your document and findings for constructive human feedback.
Designed for review
Clear checks without replacing judgement.
Ref-Check is designed to make the reference trail easier to inspect. It highlights patterns, possible gaps and details that may need closer attention, while leaving interpretation and decision-making with the user.
Explainable outputs
Findings are presented as review prompts, not hidden or unexplained decisions.
Source confidence
Verification indicators help users see where source details may need checking.
Core checks and features
What Ref-Check helps you see.
From matching citations to their references and examining source details to reviewing formatting and sharing findings, Ref-Check makes the evidence trail easier to understand and discuss.
Citation–reference matching
Identifies in-text citations and checks them against the reference list, highlighting missing or mismatched entries in a clear summary.
In-text citation and reference formatting
Flags potential formatting issues in reliably recognised in-text citations and offers style-specific guidance, alongside selected reference-list formatting checks.
External verification indicators
Uses trusted bibliographic and metadata sources, along with URL checks, to indicate where details appear plausible or may warrant closer review.
Citation usage and patterns
Shows how often each source is cited, making it easier to spot patterns, clusters and anomalies that may need attention.
Invite reviewers to comment
Securely share a document and its findings with tutors, supervisors, colleagues, editors or peer reviewers for annotations and constructive feedback.
Focused findings and guidance
Explore specific issues in focused review panels, with practical explanations and “Show Me” examples where available.
A closer look
More guidance. More meaningful feedback.
Our latest features help users go beyond spotting a potential problem: understand it, decide what to do next and invite another person to review the evidence.
Citation formatting guidance
Understand what may need changing.
For confidently recognised standalone parenthetical citations, Ref-Check can compare punctuation, author separators and other details with the selected referencing style. Where it identifies a possible issue, the “Show Me” guidance illustrates the expected form.
These are targeted checks, not a guarantee that every citation or reference-list detail has been validated. Ambiguous and complex cases still need human review.
Share for Feedback
Bring the right people into the review.
Invite a tutor, supervisor, colleague, editor or peer reviewer to examine your document alongside Ref-Check's findings. Reviewers sign in to their own accounts and can highlight passages, add annotations and submit their feedback without changing the original document.
Sharing is optional and controlled by the document owner, with time-limited invitations and the ability to revoke access. Submitted feedback is read-only, and sharing and reviewing do not consume credits. It supports peer-review work, but does not replace a journal's editorial system.
Ready to see the reference trail more clearly?
Use Ref-Check to support structured review, clearer feedback and more confident source checking.