A comprehensive, browser-based tool that cross-checks every in-text citation against your reference list. Catch missing references, year mismatches, and spelling typos in seconds.
Cross-check in-text citations against your reference list. Supports APA, Harvard, UIMS, and similar author-date formats. Includes retraction checking via Crossref API.
▶ Open Reference CheckerDr. Susovon Jana is an academic researcher with a focus on building practical, open-source tools that solve real problems in scholarly writing. Frustrated by the tedious process of manually cross-checking every citation in research papers, theses, and dissertations, he developed this tool to automate the most error-prone step of academic publishing — ensuring every in-text citation has a matching, correctly dated entry in the reference list.
The tool reflects a deep understanding of the diverse citation conventions used across disciplines, from APA and Harvard to UIMS and beyond. It is designed to work with real-world academic documents, handling edge cases like multi-word surnames, accented characters, et al. citations, and multiple citation formats within a single paper.
Automatically detects and extracts in-text citations in multiple formats: single author Smith (2020), two-author Smith and Jones (2020), et al. Smith et al. (2020), and parenthetical (Smith, 2020). Also handles multi-author citations inside parentheses separated by semicolons, colons, or commas.
Supports APA, Harvard, UIMS, and similar author-date reference styles. Automatically detects the format used in your reference list, whether it uses comma-separated initials Surname, A. B. or no-comma initials Surname AB, and extracts all author surnames and publication years.
Each citation is checked against every reference using a cascading match strategy: (1) Exact surname + year match, (2) Surname match with year mismatch detection, (3) Prefix matching for multi-word surnames, and (4) Fuzzy Levenshtein matching for spelling typos with year proximity validation. Grouped citations like Suleman et al. (2021, 2025) count every year in the group as cited, so neither reference is ever wrongly listed as uncited.
When a cited author exists in the reference list but with a different publication year, the tool flags it as a year mismatch and shows the actual year(s) available in the reference list. This catches one of the most common citation errors in academic writing.
When two works share the same author and year, APA style requires letters after the year. If your list only shows 2026a and 2026b but the body text cites Jana et al., 2026 without a letter (or cites 2026c, which does not exist), the tool flags it as a suffix typo instead of silently counting it as a match.
Identifies citations in the body text that have no matching entry whatsoever in the reference list. These are critical errors that can delay publication or peer review. The tool highlights each missing citation with its context for easy correction.
Finds references in your bibliography that are never cited in the body text. These entries inflate your reference list and may be flagged by journal reviewers. The tool lists every uncited reference so you can either add a citation or remove the entry.
One-click check of your reference list against the Crossref database for retraction notices. If any of your cited papers have been retracted, corrected, or had expressions of concern issued, the tool alerts you immediately. Requires internet connection for the API call.
Upload a full .docx document and the tool automatically detects sections: title, abstract, keywords, body headings (Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, etc.), and References. A customizable popup lets you review and adjust which sections go into the body text vs. are excluded before analysis.
Catches author name typos using Levenshtein distance algorithms. If you wrote Gower (1971) but the reference list has Gowar (1971), the tool flags it as a likely spelling mismatch. Year proximity validation prevents false positives across decades.
Enter data three ways: paste text directly into the body text and reference list boxes, upload individual .txt or .docx files for each box, or upload a complete .docx document with auto-split. Word count and reference count update live as you type.
After running a check, results are sorted by severity (missing first, then year mismatches, spelling issues, and matched). Filter checkboxes let you show or hide each status type to focus on specific issues.
Export results as a professional, self-contained HTML report with custom filename. The report includes summary statistics, color-coded citation analysis tables, uncited references, and a disclaimer. Perfect for thesis review records or journal submission preparation.
Open index.html in any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari). No installation, plugins, or internet connection required for the core functionality. The entire tool runs client-side.
You have two ways to provide your document content. Choose the one that suits you best:
Click the "▶ Run Check" button. The tool will immediately process your input and display results below. The analysis typically completes in under a second for most documents.
The results are organized into three sections:
Click the "⚠️ Check for Retracted Articles" button in the Uncited References section. The tool will extract DOIs from your reference list and check each one against the Crossref database. A popup will display the status of each reference: Safe, Retracted, or Unknown (no DOI found). You can then download a separate retraction report.
You can download two types of reports:
| Status | Meaning | Action Required |
|---|---|---|
| Matched | The author surname and publication year in the citation exactly match an entry in the reference list. For two-author citations, the second author is also verified. | None — This citation is correct. |
| Year Mismatch | The author surname was found in the reference list, but the year cited in the body text does not match the year(s) in the reference list. The tool shows the available year(s) for comparison. | Review — Verify the correct year and update either the citation or the reference. |
| Spelling Mismatch | A reference author surname that is very similar (Levenshtein distance ≤ 2, within 2 years) was found. This likely indicates a typo in either the citation or the reference list. | Review — Check spelling and correct the typo in the citation or reference. |
| Suffix Missing / Suffix Typo | The citation's year letter (a, b, c…) is missing or wrong. Suffix Missing: the body text cites a bare year (e.g. Jana et al., 2026) while the reference list only contains lettered years (2026a, 2026b). Suffix Typo: the cited letter does not exist in the list (e.g. 2026c), or a letter is cited although the list shows a plain year. |
Review — Add or correct the letter in the in-text citation so it matches the reference list. |
| Missing | No matching reference was found for this citation. The author surname does not appear in the reference list at all (no exact, prefix, or fuzzy match). | Fix — Add the reference to the list or remove/fix the citation. |
| Uncited | A reference exists in the reference list but is not cited anywhere in the body text. It may be an orphaned entry or a reference you forgot to cite. | Review — Add an in-text citation or remove the reference entry. |
| Format | Citation Example | Reference Example | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA 7th | Smith (2020), (Smith & Jones, 2021) |
Surname, A. B., & Surname, C. D. (YEAR). Title. |
Fully Supported |
| Harvard | Smith (2020), (Smith and Jones, 2021) |
Surname, A. B. and Surname, C. D. (YEAR) Title. |
Fully Supported |
| UIMS | Smith (2020), (Smith et al., 2021) |
Surname, A.B. and Surname, C.D. YEAR. Title. |
Fully Supported |
| No-Comma | Smith (2020) |
Gower JC (1971) Title. Journal vol:pages. |
Fully Supported |
| IEEE / AMA | [1], [2, 3] |
Numbered list | Not Supported |
| Vancouver | [1], [1-3] |
Numbered list | Not Supported |
De Vane, Da Silva, Van Der Berg), hyphenated surnames (Flores-Chacón, Baderinwa-Adejumo), accented characters (Á, Ö, Ñ), and corporate authors (R Core Team, WHO). Year suffixes like 2022a, 2022b are also supported.
Smith (2020)), parenthetical citations ((Smith, 2020)), et al. citations (Smith et al., 2020), two-author citations (Smith and Jones, 2020), and multi-citation parentheses ((Smith, 2020; Jones, 2021)). Numeric citation styles like IEEE [1], AMA, and Vancouver are not supported. The tool also supports year suffixes (2022a, 2022b) for distinguishing multiple works by the same author in the same year.