Check the references in a Word document
Upload your .docx. Its References or Bibliography section is found, every reference in it is looked up, and every citation in the text is matched to the list. Your file is read, never changed.
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 the references in a Word document?
Choose “Upload a Word, PDF, .bib, .ris or .txt file” above, pick your .docx, and run the check. Each reference comes back found, found with a different year or first author, or not found, and a retracted paper is flagged. The citations in the text, [3] or (Smith et al., 2020), are matched to the list, so you also see citations with no entry and entries nothing cites.
Doesn't Word check citations already?
Word’s References tab, and Zotero, Mendeley and EndNote inside Word, insert citations and format the bibliography. None of them checks that a reference names a real paper, or that a citation typed by hand has an entry. A reference pasted from an AI writing tool goes in exactly like a real one.
Is my document kept?
No. The file is read to find its references and citations, and neither it nor its text is stored. Up to 15 MB; PDF works the same way.
Does it check that each citation supports its sentence?
Not here. Sign in and hedwigai reads each sentence that cites a work against that work, and returns your document with each one marked supported, contradicted or unsupported, and the passage that settles it. Your words are left as written.
What does it cost?
This page is free: 3 checks a day, up to 25 references each, no account. The full check is billed per reference, and new accounts start with credit.