Audit the actual version that will be submitted
Drafting leaves deleted paragraphs, displaced footnotes and unused reading behind. A well-maintained reference manager reduces errors but does not prove that the exported text and visible reference list agree. Work from the final PDF or other designated submission file.
The inventory checks formal relationships: can each citation be resolved, is its entry present, and is every entry genuinely used? A sample also tests whether the location and surrounding sentence correspond. The exercise does not assess the scholarly fitness of every source.
Before starting, identify the applicable rules. Determine what belongs in the reference list and what goes in separate lists for primary materials, legislation, data, software or figures. Reconcile within those categories instead of silently forcing them into one format.
Forward pass: capture every citation in the text
Move chapter by chapter through the visible final document. Record author-date citations, numbered references, footnotes, direct quotations, table and figure sources, and appendix citations. Search functions help, but automatic extraction alone misses variants and mistakes ordinary years for citations.
Assign an occurrence ID and precise document location. Resolve it to a complete list entry. Compare spelling, year, letter suffix and author group. Where the same author has several works in one year, letters must agree between text and list.
Give direct quotations an additional check for exact wording and source location. A page for paraphrase may be required or merely recommended by the selected style. Apply the controlling instruction rather than personal preference.
Reverse pass: find every listed entry in the text
Work line by line through each applicable list and assign at least one occurrence ID to every entry. An item with no occurrence may be deleted draft residue, background reading or evidence of a missed citation. Decide whether to remove it, map it correctly or retain it under an explicit rule that permits background literature.
Inspect duplicates, variant author names, title differences and editions. Two near-identical entries may describe the same work; conversely, separate chapters in an edited volume must not collapse accidentally into one generic book entry.
An identifier such as a DOI or ISBN aids identification but does not replace the required details. Do not let a metadata service overwrite the edition actually consulted merely because its record looks complete.
Handle exceptional source types under their own rules
Personal communication, unpublished material, laws, standards, software, datasets and audiovisual works often follow distinct conventions. Label the category in the inventory. “Not in the reference list” is an error only where the adopted style requires an entry there.
Secondary citations need the prescribed signal. The inventory should state which item you personally checked. Never present an original work as consulted when you only read its treatment in another publication.
For web material, compare title, responsible body, date and URL with the version used. Dynamic material may require an access date. An archived reference should resolve to the snapshot actually examined rather than an unrelated current page.
Bring unresolved statuses to zero before final export
Filter for missing, ambiguous, location open, duplicate and unused. Resolve every row individually and record the decision. Inspect the newly exported file again because field updates can alter notes, lettering or the displayed list.
Sample different source types and open the original location, text sentence and entry together. A sample can expose a systematic defect such as using PDF screen pages throughout or reversing letter suffixes. Expand the review to every affected item when a pattern appears.
The source-note template preserves locations, and the paraphrase worksheet reviews indirect use. Find more tools in the research methods hub. The single foundation route is how verifiable checking works.
Keep a privacy-conscious audit record
Store the inventory with the checked final version and date. A clear file identifier or hash can establish which export was inspected. The working record need not be published and must not contain unauthorised full texts, credentials or unnecessary personal information.
After any substantive edit, rerun the affected chapter and corresponding reference rows. A green inventory for an earlier draft does not transfer automatically to a revised document.
If collaborators edit the file, assign responsibility for resolving each open row and perform one integrated final pass. Separate green checklists can still disagree when different exports or reference databases were used.