What a Citation Check Can Verify — and What You Still Need to Read
Citation keys, page numbers and source records can be checked mechanically. Whether a source supports your argument still requires reading and judgment.
A reference can exist, resolve correctly and point to a real page without supporting the sentence beside it. A citation check can verify parts of that chain. It cannot turn the whole argument into a verified result.
Scholardo's export checks focus on the mechanics: bibliography keys, local page ranges and recorded sources for quotations, figures and numbers. The useful question is what each result establishes, and what remains yours to assess.
Four different questions about one sentence
Consider this invented example, not a finding from a real study:
The intervention improved retention by 20% [@example-study, p. 12].There are at least four questions to answer:
| Question | What you need |
|---|---|
Does example-study resolve? | An entry in the manuscript's bibliography |
| Does the local source have page 12? | The cited file and its actual page range |
| Where did the number come from? | A source record that can be followed back |
| Does that passage support this wording? | Reading, interpretation and methodological judgment |
Passing the first three does not settle the fourth. The source might describe another sample, an exploratory analysis or a different definition of retention. A well-formed citation can still accompany a mistaken claim.
What Scholardo reports
Before export, Scholardo can flag citation keys that do not resolve in the declared bibliography, page numbers outside a local source, and quotations, figures or numbers without a recorded source. It can also note that a cited work has no reading record in Scholardo.
That last result needs care: a missing record does not mean you never read the work. You may have read it in another application or on paper. The report tells you what is recorded in this project, not your entire reading history.
A source anchor also has a specific meaning. It records the source and location a claim is said to come from. It is a declaration that helps you inspect the passage; it is not proof that the interpretation is correct.
Reporting is the default
Scholardo reports findings and allows export by default. In blocking mode, exporting with problems requires a written reason for each one. Those reasons are dated and recorded beside the file.
The check record includes the rule set, text hash and results, including checks that did not run. Read those omissions. A report is most useful when you know both what it checked and what it could not inspect.
Academic projects can also permit external DOI registry checks. That is a separate, authorized online lookup. A registry response can inform reference review; it does not assess the reasoning of the manuscript.
See the export-check guide for the behavior and limits of each mode.
Review one claim from draft to source
For a small review exercise, choose a paragraph containing a quotation or a number. Run the check, open each reported issue, and follow its source record. Read the passage in context. Ask whether the population, measurement, time period and strength of the claim match what you wrote.
Correct both mechanical errors and interpretive errors. Run the check again after editing. Finally, inspect the exported file: the presence of a valid bibliography does not guarantee that a Word, PDF or LaTeX document meets the target journal's formatting requirements.
This exercise is a review procedure, not a measured claim that the software improves research accuracy by a particular percentage.
Inserting a citation is another step
In Scholardo, the selection toolbar inserts a citation key or a source footnote for the source you choose. It does not establish that a new paper supports the selected claim. During drafting, the Conversation Agent can cite works from your library by key; you still need to follow those citations.
For the insertion workflow, see Citations. If you have not yet created a project, start with one PDF and a reviewed note.