Verify Academic References and Catch Fake AI Citations

ScholarSafe is a citation checker and AI academic writing workspace for researchers. Verify references against Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar, flag missing or mismatched DOI metadata, and write with traceable sources before submission.

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200M+

Papers indexed across sources

150M+

DOI records searchable across sources

4

Databases cross-checked

The Problem

Low-Hallucination Citations, by Design

AI tools invent citations that don't exist. ScholarSafe checks every reference against Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar, and flags anything unverified before it reaches your paper.

The Difference

How ScholarSafe Verifies Academic References

Other AI tools generate citations then hope they're real. ScholarSafe verifies every citation before it reaches your paper.

Other AI Tools

✗ Generate citations, then hope they exist
✗ No database check before citing
✗ Fabrications surface at peer review

VS

ScholarSafe

✓ Checked against Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed & Semantic Scholar
✓ Unverified references flagged before insertion
✓ DOI metadata matched, not assumed

Why ScholarSafe

Citation Checker Features for Research Papers

The first tool to combine generative writing, verified citations, data control, and journal formatting in one workflow.

✓

DOI Cross-Verification

Every citation is verified against Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, PubMed + CrossRef in real time. If a DOI doesn't exist, it doesn't get cited. Period.

🔒

You Control Your Data

Bring your own API key or self-host a local model to keep sensitive work on your own infrastructure. Citation checks run locally, and you can delete your data anytime.

✍

Native Speaker Polishing

Two-tier pipeline: local rule engine handles 70-80% of ESL issues instantly, optional cloud LLM refines tone and flow.

📄

15 Citation Styles

Vancouver, APA, IEEE, Nature, MLA, Chicago, GB/T 7714 and more. 10+ journal compliance profiles. Format once, submit anywhere.

📖

PDF Reader & Chat

Upload any paper, ask questions about it. AI answers based on the actual content with precise references.

⌨

AI Writing Editor

Full rich text editor with AI autocomplete. Generate outlines, abstracts, and literature reviews. Like Copilot for academia.

🔎

Plagiarism Detection

AI-powered style analysis catches inconsistencies, copy-paste patterns, and missing citations before reviewers do.

📊

Literature Comparison

Compare multiple papers side-by-side. Auto-extract methods, findings, and limitations into a structured matrix.

How It Works

How to Verify References in Four Steps

1

🔍

Search

Query Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex & PubMed simultaneously

→

2

📝

Generate

AI writes your literature review, constrained to verified papers only

→

3

✓

Verify

Every citation cross-checked against PubMed + CrossRef DOI registry

→

4

✍

Polish & Format

Native-speaker polishing + auto-format to any journal style

Live Demo

Try the Academic Paper and DOI Checker

Search 200M+ papers across Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex & PubMed — every result cross-verified against CrossRef in real time. No signup required.

Comparison

ScholarSafe vs. Other Citation Verification Tools

ScholarSafe compared with Jenni AI, Consensus, OpenScholar, and Citely across citation verification features
Feature	ScholarSafe	Jenni AI	Consensus	OpenScholar	Citely
Generative Writing	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗
DOI Cross-Verification	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Self-hosted option	✓	✗	✗	Partial	✗
Native Polishing	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
Journal Formatting	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗

Trusted By Researchers

What Researchers Say

"I was about to submit a paper with 3 fabricated citations from ChatGPT. ScholarSafe caught all of them before I embarrassed myself in front of reviewers."

Wei Zhang

PhD Candidate, Machine Learning & NLP

"Cross-checking references across Semantic Scholar and OpenAlex used to eat my whole afternoon. Now every working-paper citation is verified before it hits my draft."

Dr. Elena Moreau

Postdoctoral Fellow, Economics

"The polishing feature turned my ESL draft into publication-ready prose. One tool to search, write, verify, and format in Chicago style — a game changer for my monograph."

Dr. Amara Okonkwo

Lecturer, History & Digital Humanities

Pricing

Simple, Transparent Pricing

Start free, upgrade when you need more power.

Free

$0/mo

Generous free search (no daily cap during beta)
Basic citation formatting
DOI verification included

Get Started

Citation Checker and Reference Verification FAQ

What is a citation checker?

A citation checker compares a reference with scholarly records to find missing publications, invalid identifiers, and mismatched metadata such as title, author, year, or journal.

How can I verify whether an academic reference is real?

Search authoritative databases such as Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar for the title, authors, year, and DOI. If no record matches, or the metadata conflicts, the reference needs manual review before you cite it.

Can ScholarSafe detect AI-generated fake citations?

ScholarSafe searches Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar and flags references that cannot be verified or whose metadata does not match. A flagged result still requires human review.

Does a valid DOI prove that a source supports my claim?

No. A valid DOI helps confirm that a publication exists and that its metadata matches. Researchers must still read the source and confirm that it supports the claim being cited.

Can I verify references that do not have a DOI?

Some references can be matched by title, author, year, PMID, or other metadata. Books, older works, and local publications may require manual verification when no authoritative record is available.

How does DOI cross-verification work?

We search Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, and PubMed for paper metadata, then verify each DOI against CrossRef's registry. If a DOI doesn't resolve to a real paper, it gets flagged.

Is my research data safe?

By default, AI features (writing, paraphrasing, verification) are processed through a third-party cloud AI provider, so that content is sent off our servers. For sensitive or unpublished work, you're in control: bring your own API key to route requests through your own provider, or self-host ScholarSafe with a local model so nothing leaves your infrastructure. Citation checks against public databases and formatting run locally, and you can permanently delete your data anytime.

What's the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 polishing?

Tier 1 is rule-based and runs locally — it fixes common ESL issues like article usage, passive voice, and hedging. Tier 2 uses a cloud LLM for deeper stylistic improvements (requires consent).

Which citation styles are supported?

15 styles: Vancouver, APA 7th, Harvard, IEEE, Chicago, AMA, NLM, MLA 9th, Turabian, Nature, CSE, ACS, ACM, ABNT, and GB/T 7714. Plus compliance checking for 10+ journals including Nature, Science, The Lancet, and NEJM.

Can I self-host ScholarSafe?

Yes. ScholarSafe runs on a single Node.js server with SQLite. Deploy on any VPS, your lab server, or your university infrastructure.

How is this different from ChatGPT + Google Scholar?

ChatGPT fabricates citations from training data. Google Scholar doesn't verify DOIs. ScholarSafe constrains AI generation to only cite real, verified papers — limiting suggestions to retrievable records and reducing citation hallucination risk. Researchers should still verify that each source supports the claim.

Early Access

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