Citation checking
Citation checking skill. Reference validation, DOI verification, retraction detection, citation consistency checking, and bibliography formatting compliance.
Use This Skill When
- Reference validation.
- DOI verification.
- Retraction detection.
- Citation consistency checking.
- Bibliography formatting compliance.
Required Inputs
- Research objective, decision target, or hypothesis.
- Available data, source constraints, and domain assumptions.
- Required outputs, success metrics, and deadline or reproducibility constraints.
Workflow
- Confirm scope, assumptions, and the exact artifact set to save.
- Apply the narrowest domain method that answers the request with defensible evidence.
- Save code, tables, figures, and intermediate outputs to files instead of chat-only output.
- State limitations, uncertainty, and any validation or sensitivity checks performed.
- Append skill selection, handoff I/O, and file writes to
logs/process-log.jsonl.
Deliverables
report.md: concise method, results, interpretation, and file inventory in the user's language.
results/: structured outputs, metrics, model artifacts, or extracted findings.
figures/: English-only charts, diagrams, or panels when visual output is needed.
data/: processed or derived datasets when transformation occurs.
Available Tools (MCP)
External tools available via ToolUniverse MCP server.
Falls back to Python requests + public REST APIs when MCP is unavailable.
| Source |
Tool |
Description |
| Crossref |
Crossref_search_works |
Crossref API |
| Crossref |
Crossref_get_work |
Crossref API |
| Semantic Scholar |
SemanticScholar_get_citations |
Semantic Scholar API |
Quality Gates
If any gate fails: identify the specific failing check, fix the issue, and re-validate before proceeding.
Gotchas
- Citation style varies by journal (author-year vs numbered). Confirm target format before writing
- Claims in Discussion must trace back to specific Results. Do not introduce new data in Discussion
- Supplementary materials must be self-contained with their own figure/table numbering
Validation Loop
- Execute analysis and generate outputs
- Check:
- Method selection matches the research question and stated assumptions
- All outputs are saved to files (no chat-only results)
- Limitations and uncertainty are explicitly stated
logs/process-log.jsonl is updated with execution trace
- If any check fails:
- Identify the failing gate
- Fix the specific issue
- Re-run validation
- Proceed only after all gates pass
1---2name: co-scientist-citation-checker3description: Citation checking skill. Reference validation, DOI verification, retraction detection, citation consistency checking, and bibliography formatting compliance. Use when working with reference validation, doi verification, retraction detection.4---56# Citation checking78Citation checking skill. Reference validation, DOI verification, retraction detection, citation consistency checking, and bibliography formatting compliance.910## Use This Skill When1112- Reference validation.13- DOI verification.14- Retraction detection.15- Citation consistency checking.16- Bibliography formatting compliance.1718## Required Inputs1920- Research objective, decision target, or hypothesis.21- Available data, source constraints, and domain assumptions.22- Required outputs, success metrics, and deadline or reproducibility constraints.2324## Workflow25261. Confirm scope, assumptions, and the exact artifact set to save.272. Apply the narrowest domain method that answers the request with defensible evidence.283. Save code, tables, figures, and intermediate outputs to files instead of chat-only output.294. State limitations, uncertainty, and any validation or sensitivity checks performed.305. Append skill selection, handoff I/O, and file writes to `logs/process-log.jsonl`.3132## Deliverables3334- `report.md`: concise method, results, interpretation, and file inventory in the user's language.35- `results/`: structured outputs, metrics, model artifacts, or extracted findings.36- `figures/`: English-only charts, diagrams, or panels when visual output is needed.37- `data/`: processed or derived datasets when transformation occurs.3839## Available Tools (MCP)4041> External tools available via [ToolUniverse](https://github.com/mims-harvard/ToolUniverse) MCP server.42> Falls back to Python `requests` + public REST APIs when MCP is unavailable.4344| Source | Tool | Description |45|--------|------|-------------|46| Crossref | `Crossref_search_works` | Crossref API |47| Crossref | `Crossref_get_work` | Crossref API |48| Semantic Scholar | `SemanticScholar_get_citations` | Semantic Scholar API |4950## Quality Gates5152- [ ] The selected method matches the scientific question and stated assumptions.53- [ ] Outputs are reproducible, saved to files, and traceable from inputs to conclusions.54- [ ] Missing data, uncertainty, bias, and hard limits are made explicit.55- [ ] `report.md` and `logs/process-log.jsonl` reference the generated artifacts.56- [ ] No essential result remains chat-only.5758If any gate fails: identify the specific failing check, fix the issue, and re-validate before proceeding.5960## Gotchas6162- Citation style varies by journal (author-year vs numbered). Confirm target format before writing63- Claims in Discussion must trace back to specific Results. Do not introduce new data in Discussion64- Supplementary materials must be self-contained with their own figure/table numbering6566## Validation Loop67681. Execute analysis and generate outputs692. Check:70 - Method selection matches the research question and stated assumptions71 - All outputs are saved to files (no chat-only results)72 - Limitations and uncertainty are explicitly stated73 - `logs/process-log.jsonl` is updated with execution trace743. If any check fails:75 - Identify the failing gate76 - Fix the specific issue77 - Re-run validation784. Proceed only after all gates pass