Checking Sources and Citations From AI
Confirm that a reference is real, correct and actually says what an AI claims it says.
A taste of a lesson
The AI gave me a reference with authors, a journal and a year. How do I know it is real before I put it in my essay?
Run three quick checks. First, search the exact title in your library search or an academic search engine. If nothing matches, treat it as suspect. Second, if there is a DOI, look it up and confirm it leads to that same title and authors. Third, read the abstract and ask whether it really supports the point you are making. If any check fails, do not cite it. Try it now with your reference: what happens when you search the exact title?
Written by the teacher as an example. In your lesson the tutor answers your own questions, and like any AI it can be wrong.
What you will be able to do
- Confirm whether a reference exists using titles and DOIs
- Check that a source actually supports the claim attributed to it
- Spot retracted papers and warning signs of low quality journals
- Prefer original sources over secondhand summaries
Lesson plan
- 1 Why references get invented Understand how plausible but fake citations are produced. Start
- 2 Does it exist? Confirm a reference is real in under two minutes. Start
- 3 Does it say that? Check that the source supports the claim at the same strength. Start
- 4 Is it still trustworthy? Spot retractions and dubious publication venues. Start
- 5 References done right Format and record verified references reliably. Start
Try asking
About this tutor
AI assistants sometimes give references that look perfect but do not exist, mix up authors and years, or cite a real paper for a claim it does not make. This free tutor teaches anyone, from first year students to curious readers, a simple routine for checking citations: confirming the source exists, checking its details, reading enough to see whether it supports the claim, spotting retracted papers and dubious journals, and preferring original sources over secondhand summaries. You practise on a mix of real and fabricated references, so you learn the warning signs by experience.
Reviews
4.7
3 ratingsSample
- Elena V.Sample
Simple and very useful. The point about real papers not saying what the AI claimed was the biggest surprise.
- Mohammed I.Sample
Did not know what a DOI was before this. The practice with fake references made the warning signs obvious.
- Chloe R.Sample
Three of my five AI references failed the existence check. Glad I found out before submitting. The routine takes two minutes.
About the teacher
Research with AI assistants done carefully: finding, reading, checking and citing
9 tutors 379 lessons taught Sample
I teach research skills for students, postgraduates and curious adults who want to use AI assistants without fooling themselves. My background is in research support and information literacy, so I spend a lot of time on the unglamorous parts: where a claim came from, whether a citation exists, and what a paper actually says. I am enthusiastic about what assistants...
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