# Citely tutorials

Last updated: 2026-10-09

Step-by-step workflows for checking references and finding sources with Citely, followed by common questions.

## Check a reference list before submission

1. Open the Citation Checker: https://citely.ai/citation-checker
2. Paste the whole bibliography, one reference per line. Any citation style works, and Chinese references can be pasted as they are.
3. Read the result for each reference: verified, mismatch (the wrong field is named and the correct record shown) or not found.
4. For a mismatch, copy the corrected details. For a not-found reference, click "Find a real source" to replace it.
5. Download the Word report for your supervisor or journal.

Check the complete list once more after late edits, not only the references you suspect.

## Check references written by ChatGPT or another AI

Paste every AI-generated reference into the Citation Checker, not only the ones that look wrong. AI tools often produce chimera citations (real authors and journal, invented title) and real DOIs attached to the wrong paper, which look correct at a glance. Citely labels each problem by pattern.

## Find a source you forgot to cite

1. Open Source Finder: https://citely.ai/source-finder
2. Paste the sentence you wrote, or describe the idea or finding as you remember it.
3. Citely returns papers that make the same point, with the matching passage highlighted.
4. Recognise the paper you read, confirm it, and add it to your references.

If nothing matches, rewrite the point as your own reasoning or support it with a source you have read. Leaving a borrowed idea uncited counts as plagiarism even when it is accidental.

## Add references to a draft

1. Paste a paragraph or a whole section into Source Finder.
2. Citely splits the text into individual claims and finds published papers for each one.
3. Pick papers you have read and agree with, and add them where each claim appears.

This answers a reviewer's "citation needed" or a supervisor's request for more references with sources that actually fit the text.

## Find authoritative sources for a core argument

1. Paste your main argument into Source Finder.
2. Review the labels on each result: journal, impact factor, JCR quartile, 中科院分区, 北大核心, CSSCI and citation count.
3. Filter to Q1 or core journals, or sort by citations, and keep the strongest few.

## Check Chinese references

Paste Chinese references directly, without translating them or converting names to pinyin. Citely checks Wanfang and CNKI and matches papers without a DOI on title, authors and year. Use GB/T 7714 for the final citation format.

## Replace a fabricated reference

On a reference marked not found, click "Find a real source". Citely searches for papers that support the sentence the fake reference was attached to; pick one and replace it in one click.

## A reliable writing workflow

1. Source each claim with Source Finder before the paragraph hardens around it.
2. Run anything copied from ChatGPT or another tool through the Citation Checker before it enters the draft.
3. Check the complete bibliography once more before submission.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can Citely catch citations invented by ChatGPT?
Yes. It flags references that are missing from every database, have mismatched authors, years or DOIs, or combine real parts into a fake paper.

### Does "not found" always mean fake?
No. Grey literature, very recent papers and some books may not be indexed yet. Citely shows the closest records so you can check.

### Do I pay if Source Finder finds nothing?
No. A search is free when no source is found.

### Is my manuscript safe?
Your text is never added to a plagiarism database, never used to train AI models and never sold, and it is deleted automatically.

### Does it work with Zotero, EndNote or Mendeley?
Yes. Export BibTeX or RIS from Citely and import it into your reference manager.

### Can I check Chinese literature?
Yes. Paste Chinese titles, authors and paragraphs directly; Citely searches Chinese and English collections.

## Official pages

- [Help center](https://citely.ai/help-center)
- [Citation Checker](https://citely.ai/citation-checker)
- [Source Finder](https://citely.ai/source-finder)