IEEE reference checker: check every [n] against the record
Paste a numbered IEEE reference list, your paper with its References section, or a .bib file. Each entry is looked up by DOI or by title, authors and year, and every [n] in the text is matched to an entry.
Up to 25 references a check, 3 checks a day.
How it works
Paste or upload
A reference list, a .bib or .ris file, or the whole draft as Word or PDF.
Each work looked up
In Crossref, where publishers register their papers, then OpenAlex for books and the rest, by DOI or by title, author and year.
See what to fix
Found, found with a different year or authors, or not found, and any retraction flagged.
Records from Crossref and OpenAlex; retractions from Retraction Watch, through Crossref. Nothing you paste or upload is kept.
Keep your library in Zotero?
Right-click items or a whole collection and choose Check references with hedwigai. The check opens here and starts at once. Free, for Zotero 7 and 8; nothing in your library changes.
How do I check IEEE references?
Paste the list as it appears in the paper, [1] to [n]. Each entry comes back found, found with a different year or first author, or not found, and a retracted paper is flagged. Paste the whole paper and the citations are checked as well: a [7] with no entry 7, ranges such as [3]–[5], and entries the text never cites.
Does it check conference papers and arXiv preprints?
Yes. Conference proceedings are in Crossref like journals; arXiv, Zenodo and other DataCite DOIs are asked of doi.org; and books and what Crossref lacks are looked for in OpenAlex.
Does it fix IEEE formatting?
No. It does not reorder names, abbreviate journals or set italics. It checks that each reference names a real work with the year and authors it gives, which is what a reviewer flags and a formatter cannot see. Each found reference links to its record.
I write in Overleaf. Can I check the .bib directly?
Yes: paste or upload the .bib file here, or use the BibTeX checker. To check and compile the project from Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, see the Overleaf MCP.
What does it cost?
This page is free: 3 checks a day, up to 25 references each, no account. Nothing you paste is kept. Sign in and hedwigai also reads each sentence that cites a work against that work.