Reference check
Reference check (in the app: Check refs) is the Ison Slate feature for checking your own manuscript, such as a thesis, dissertation, paper or article, before you submit it. Slate does not write anything for you. It checks the three things supervisors and reviewers usually check:
- Whether each reference exists. Every reference-list entry is looked up in Crossref, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Garuda, Google Books and the 1M+ SINTA journal articles in Ison Search. Indonesian journal articles without a DOI can be found too.
- Whether citations and the reference list match. In-text citations with no entry, and entries never cited, are listed.
- Whether the source supports your sentence. For sources with open text, Slate takes the most relevant passage and judges whether it supports the sentence that cites it.
How to use it
- Open slate.isonai.com and sign in with your IsonAI account.
- Choose Check refs in the top bar, or "Check its references" on the home screen.
- Upload a file (PDF or Word) or paste the full manuscript text including its reference list.
- Press Start check. Duration depends on the number of references: a short list finishes in under a minute, a long one can take a few minutes.
- Read the results in three tabs: References, Cited sentences and Consistency. Tick "Show only items to review" to filter.
- Download the report as .md or .csv to attach it or discuss it with your supervisor.
Author-year (APA, Harvard) and numbered (IEEE, Vancouver) citation styles are recognised, including institutional abbreviations such as Kemenkes, BPS or WHO.
Reference statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Found | Title, authors and year match a database record. |
| Metadata differs | The work was found, but the year, authors or title in your list differ. The note shows which. |
| Similar, check manually | A work with a similar title exists, but it is not certain it is the same work. |
| DOI points to another work | The DOI you wrote is registered, but to a different work. |
| RETRACTED | The publisher has retracted the article. Avoid citing it. |
| Not found | Not in the databases checked. This is not proof the reference is fake: older books, small proceedings and internal documents are often not indexed. |
| Couldn't check | A database did not respond during the check. Try again later. |
| Check manually | Books, regulations or web pages that cannot be matched automatically. |
| Link works / dead link | For URL references: whether the link still opens. |
Sentence check results
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Supported | The source passage states what your sentence says. |
| Partly supported | Part of the sentence is supported; part is not in the passage. |
| Conflicts | The passage states something inconsistent with your sentence. |
| Not in passage | The best passage from that source does not address your sentence. |
| Couldn't check | The source text could not be retrieved (for example, a paywalled article). |
Every result shows the passage that was checked, so you can judge it yourself.
Privacy and quota
- Your manuscript is not stored: it is checked and discarded. Results exist only on screen and in the files you download.
- One check uses one Standard Slate quota.
Limitations
- "Not found" means not indexed in the sources checked, not a verdict that the reference was invented.
- The sentence check reads open text or abstracts. Claims from paywalled sections may not be readable and show as "Couldn't check".
- The check judges whether a source supports your sentence, not whether the source itself is correct.
Related
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