Rethinking Inline Citation Verification in Scholarly Communication

2026-10-04

AI Summary

This study addresses the growing difficulty of verifying inline citations during academic peer review and the inability of existing workflows to withstand escalating reviewing demands. Employing a mixed-methods approach combining interviews and surveys, it systematically investigates reviewers’ citation verification practices, influencing factors, and the assistive potential of generative AI. The findings reveal heterogeneous verification needs across different citation types and contexts, highlighting significant variability in current reviewing practices. Based on these insights, this work proposes an adaptive support paradigm that shifts reliance from individual reviewers toward community-driven collaboration. Ultimately, this research provides empirical evidence and an innovative pathway for optimizing citation verification workflows and fostering multi-stakeholder coordination within the scholarly review process.

Abstract

Inline citations are central to scholarly communication, yet verifying their use is becoming increasingly challenging because of growing review pressures. We conducted a mixed-methods exploratory study to investigate how reviewers verify inline citations, the factors shaping their verification practices, and how they envision GenAI supporting this process. Across interviews (n=12) and a survey (n=203) of reviewers from HCI and AI venues, we found that reviewers'perceptions of citation importance, verification practices, and desired AI autonomy varied across citation types, reviewer characteristics, and research backgrounds. These findings highlight the need for adaptive support tailored to different citation types and reviewer practices, while revealing diverse preferences regarding the use of GenAI for this process. Moreover, effective citation verification should involve collaboration among reviewers, authors, and the broader research community, rather than relying solely on individual reviewers.

Problem

• Inline citation verification
• Scholarly communication
• Peer review
• GenAI support

Innovation

• Inline Citation Verification
• Generative AI
• Adaptive Support
• Mixed-methods Study
• Scholarly Communication