Reviewers vary in how they check citations and want AI help
Rethinking Inline Citation Verification in Scholarly Communication
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
Checking if citations in research papers are used correctly is getting harder because reviewers have more to examine. The authors studied how reviewers from human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence fields verify citations and found that their methods and opinions about the importance of citations vary a lot. Reviewers also have different ideas about how much AI should help in this task. The authors suggest that support tools should adapt to different types of citations and reviewer preferences, and that checking citations well requires teamwork among reviewers, authors, and the research community.
What this means in practice
- •For conference organizers: Design AI-assisted tools that match reviewer preferences to ease verifying citations during paper reviews in HCI and AI fields.
- •For publishing platform developers: Create adaptable platforms that support collaborative citation verification among authors, reviewers, and communities to improve research quality.
Authors
Xinrui Fang, Reese Fairchild, Nasi Wang, Anran Xu, Simo Hosio, Sylvain Malacria, Koji Yatani
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.