# Citation Verification

Provides reference guidance for citation verification in academic writing.

- Repository: https://github.com/Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar (5959 stars)
- Category: Data and ML
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-19
- Runs scripts: yes, review before use

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill citation-verification -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill citation-verification -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill citation-verification -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill citation-verification -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar`

## Description

This skill provides reference guidance for citation verification in academic writing. Use when the user asks about "citation verification best practices", "how to verify references", "preventing fake citations", or needs guidance on citation accuracy. This skill supports ml-paper-writing by providing detailed verification principles and common error patterns.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Citation Verification Reference Guide

A reference guide for citation verification in academic paper writing, providing verification principles and best practices.

**Core Principle**: Proactively verify every citation during the writing process using programmatic or canonical scholarly sources first: arXiv, DOI/CrossRef, Semantic Scholar, publisher landing pages, and Zotero metadata. Google Scholar is useful for manual discovery, but it is not the canonical verification authority.

## Core Problems

Citation issues in academic papers seriously impact research integrity:

1. **Fake citations** - Citing non-existent papers (common issue with AI-generated citations)
2. **Incorrect information** - Mismatched authors, titles, years, etc.
3. **Inconsistent formatting** - Mixed citation formats
4. **Missing citations** - Referenced but uncited work

These issues can lead to:
- Paper rejection or retraction
- Damage to academic reputation
- Reviewers questioning research rigor

**Special risk with AI-assisted writing**: AI-generated citations have approximately 40% error rate; every citation must be verified via WebSearch.

## Verification Principles

This skill provides verification principles based on canonical scholarly metadata and claim-level checking:

### 1. Proactive Verification (Verify During Writing)

**Core idea**: Verify immediately when adding a citation, rather than checking after writing is complete.

- Search for the paper via WebSearch each time a citation is needed
- Confirm the paper exists on Google Scholar
- Add to bibliography only after verification passes

### 2. Canonical Metadata Verification

Preferred authority order:
1. DOI / publisher landing page
2. arXiv ID or arXiv landing page
3. CrossRef
4. Semantic Scholar
5. Zotero metadata imported from a verified identifier
6. Google Scholar only for manual discovery or fallback lookup

The rest: https://github.com/Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar/blob/HEAD/skills/citation-verification/SKILL.md