Our methodology

How Citation finds sources, formats references, assists with writing and checks your work. Follow the process from an original source to a finished document.

Good writing starts with a traceable source.

Citation brings research, writing and references into one workspace. Our job is to help you keep the connection between a sentence and the work behind it, from the first source you save to the document you export.

We use publication records, identifiers, accessible web metadata and the material you provide. These inputs have different strengths. A publisher record can help identify an article; a readable PDF can help you examine a passage; your notes explain why the source matters to your own work.

Our about page explains why we build Citation. The author directory brings together the writing on our site, and our trust center explains how the service handles data.

From source to document.

Four connected steps, with room for your own decisions at every stage.

1. Find the source

Start with a title, URL, DOI or ISBN. Citation looks for bibliographic records and source metadata. Title searches can return several candidates, so choose the publication and edition you actually used. You can also enter a source manually.

DOI lookups use the identifier to retrieve publication metadata. Title searches use Crossref. Book lookup uses Google Books and Open Library where available. For a webpage, Citation reads the accessible page and its structured metadata. A lookup is a way to find a record, not confirmation that every field is correct.

Adding and reviewing sources

2. Review the details

A source record keeps authors, dates, titles, identifiers and publication information together. Review missing or conflicting fields against the original. An access date, a publication date and the date a webpage was updated can mean different things.

Imported files and provider records can be incomplete. Citation keeps references editable so you can correct the record before using it. A DOI identifies a work, while an ISBN may identify a particular edition. Neither replaces reading the source or checking that it supports your argument.

Managing your source library

3. Format the reference

Citation uses structured source records and citation style rules to produce citations and bibliographies. Citations remain connected to saved sources, so you can change the style without rebuilding the reference list by hand.

Formatting depends on the selected style, source type and available metadata. Citation supports APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, AMA, Vancouver and ACS. Your institution or publisher may ask for a local variation, which you should check before submission.

Supported citation styles

4. Write with the evidence nearby

Draft, revise and organize your document alongside the sources you have saved. AI suggestions can help with wording and structure. Review a suggestion before accepting it, especially when a change affects a qualification, a quotation or a factual claim.

AI processing uses the context supplied for the request. A fluent answer can still be incomplete or wrong. Citation checks and writing suggestions serve different purposes; neither substitutes for a subject expert or the original publication.

Writing with Citation

What a check can tell you.

Citation connections

A citation check inspects saved source metadata and the connections between citations and references. It can help identify missing details or broken references. It does not establish that a source supports every statement in a document.

Public web matches

Web checks compare passages with accessible public sources. A match can be a quotation, a common phrase or a passage that needs attribution. Review the surrounding text and the original source before deciding what a result means.

Source details and formatted references need review. Check authors, dates, titles and publication details against the source you actually used.
A matching passage is not proof of plagiarism, and no matches does not prove originality. Web checks use accessible public sources and do not cover every publication, private repository or university database.
Citation checks inspect saved citation links and metadata. They do not establish whether every claim is true or whether a source supports an argument.
PDF source extraction needs readable text. OCR is not available for scanned pages without text.

Read the guides to citation checks and web matches for the details of each workflow.

What makes a source ready to use.

Evaluate the identity, record and meaning separately. A well formatted reference starts with the right source.

Review	What to check	How to decide
Identity	Match the title, author and identifier to the publication you actually read.	A DOI identifies a work; an ISBN identifies an edition. Similar titles are separate candidates, not interchangeable sources.
Completeness	Review the author list, publication date, publisher or journal, volume, issue and pages where the source type needs them.	Add missing information from the original. Do not fill a missing date or author by guessing.
Conflicts	Compare inconsistent records with the publisher page or the relevant edition.	Keep the original work as the reference point. Review preprints, corrections and later editions as distinct versions.
Formatting	Select the required style and inspect the output for the source type.	Style rules format the supplied fields. They cannot repair an incorrect author, title or date.
Meaning	Read the passage in context and decide whether it supports your claim.	This remains a research decision. A successful lookup or clean citation check does not verify an argument.

Citation flags some imported book records and unusual capitalization for review. These signals identify details worth checking; they are not numerical confidence scores. Metadata stays editable, and a manually entered record still needs the same care as an imported one.

When the details need a closer look.

Common source problems and the decisions that resolve them.

Two dates for the same article

An article may have an online publication date and a later issue date. Check the version cited and the style’s requirements. Keep an access date separate from a publication date.

Check citation styles

A book with several editions

Search using the ISBN printed in the edition you used. Review the author order, edition and publisher. Book catalog imports can need manual correction before the reference is ready.

Review source details

A page without an author

Look for a responsible organization and the page’s own publication details. If a field is not available, use the style’s missing information rules. Do not turn the website owner or today’s date into an invented byline or publication date.

Explore citation tools

An inaccessible or scanned source

A blocked page or a scanned PDF may not provide readable text. Enter the bibliographic details manually and inspect the original. An unsuccessful extraction says nothing about the quality of the source.

Find import help

How we approach published work.

Useful guidance connects clear explanations with evidence a reader can follow.

Start with the source

Use the original publication, product documentation or dataset when it is available. Keep a number with its population, time period and definition so its meaning survives being quoted.

Explain the work

Show the steps a reader can follow. Separate a formatting example from a research finding, and a product capability from an opinion about how to use it.

Keep judgment with the writer

AI can help explore an idea or revise a sentence. The writer remains responsible for checking claims, reading the relevant source and deciding what belongs in the final work.

Make corrections useful

A correction should address the underlying claim, its example and any connected guidance. Send the article URL and the source that explains the issue so the relevant passage can be reviewed.

Our blog explores research and writing. Data reports identify the sources and definitions behind their figures. A report based on an external study describes that study’s population and period; it is not a measurement of Citation users. Our editorial standards connect these principles with author profiles and corrections.

From a question to a published guide.

Our editorial workflow connects evidence, useful examples and product review.

Step 1

Choose a useful question

Start with a problem a reader can act on: finding a source, choosing a citation style, revising an argument or understanding a research result. Product questions come from support, documentation gaps and repeated writing workflows.

Step 2

Build the evidence

Read original publications and official documentation. Record the claim, its supporting passage and any limits in the editorial working notes. For a statistic, keep the population, period, denominator and method together.

Step 3

Write and reproduce

The author develops the explanation and repeats the product steps in a working account. Examples distinguish a source record from a research finding. Screenshots and instructions must describe the same workflow.

Step 4

Review before publication

Editorial review checks source attribution, the argument and clarity. Product review checks feature names, permissions, limits and steps. The author resolves questions before the article is published under its byline.

Step 5

Maintain the connection

Revisit affected guidance when product behavior, a source or a citation standard changes. Correct the original passage and connected examples together. Material changes are explained in the article’s update history where available.

The author directory connects a byline to its published work. Read our policies for AI assistance, content updates and editorial independence.

How Citation makes money.

Citation offers free accounts and an optional Pro subscription. Paid access supports higher monthly allowances for the features included in your plan. API operations use the credit model described in the API documentation.

Formatting a reference is governed by the selected citation style and its source data. A paid plan does not change the bibliographic facts of a source or make a document check a guarantee of originality.

Commercial and editorial decisions

We do not sell placement in source results or charge a provider for a favorable comparison. A comparison explains the workflow and its tradeoffs, including where a different tool may be a better fit. Relevant commercial relationships belong with the affected content.

Our operator and founder are identified on the company page. Subscription revenue supports the product; payment does not buy a different research conclusion.

See pricing for the current offer, usage and access for account limits and API documentation for programmatic use.

Help us make it more accurate.

If a guide is unclear or a statement needs correcting, send the page URL, the specific passage and the original source. For a citation issue, include the source type, identifier and citation style so the formatting can be reproduced.

Keep private documents, credentials and personal information out of a public report. Our contact form is the starting point for a correction or product question.

Our corrections policy explains how a report is reviewed and how changes are reflected in related guidance. Product changes, broken source links and reader reports are triggers for a new review.