Verifying a DOI, a title and an author list
Lesson 2 of 6 · Citations that survive
1 · Learn the move · Fact-check list
Verification is element by element, because fabricated references fail at different joints. The most dangerous kind is the hybrid: a real DOI stapled to an invented title, or a real paper credited to a shuffled author list. So a DOI that resolves proves almost nothing by itself - it must resolve to the exact paper the citation claims, with the title matching, the author list matching in order, and the journal, year and pages agreeing. VERIFIED means every element matched and the paper supports the specific claim you cite it for. One mismatch with an innocent explanation is still UNVERIFIED until you have looked at the publisher page. A mismatch without one is FAILED.
Build a fact-check list for this reference: [citation]. Rows: DOI resolves to this exact paper / title matches exactly / author list and order match / journal, year, pages match / paper supports this claim: [claim]. I will run each check and report back; you record results and assign VERIFIED, UNVERIFIED, or FAILED. Anything I have not checked stays UNVERIFIED.
2 · Your turn. You write the prompt
Your co-author sent a 12-entry reference list for the discussion section. Three entries were pasted from a model chat months ago and nobody remembers which three. You have an hour before the draft goes to the senior author, and you want a check you can run per entry rather than a feeling about which ones look off.
Remember: the AI sees only your prompt, not this page. If the situation isn't in your prompt, it doesn't exist.
Optional. These shape the output when you run your prompt below, not your score.