Reference checks inside the OJS workflow
A generic plugin for Open Journal Systems 3.3. It adds a “ReferenceVerify” tab to every submission's workflow: the editor sends the manuscript file to a check in one click, can write the report summary back to the submission, and gets reviewer suggestions from the same tab.
referenceVerify-ojs.tar.gz · uploaded to OJS as is, no need to unpack it. Permanent link (always the latest version): referenceVerify-ojs-latest.tar.gz
OJS 3.3.x · PHP 7.4–8.1 (tested on 7.4, 8.0 and 8.1), cURL and outbound HTTPS
Uploading a plugin package in OJS requires the Site Administrator role; a journal manager cannot upload it. There is no version for OJS 3.4 yet.
You can see your version in OJS under Administration → System Information.
How it works
The check runs in the editor's browser, not in OJS; OJS only hands the file over as an encrypted, single-use transfer.
What it does
Workflow tab
- Visible to journal managers, editors, production editors, assigned section editors and the site administrator. Authors, reviewers and assistants (copyeditor, layout editor, proofreader) do not see it.
- The submission's manuscript files are listed: submission, review round, revisions, copyediting and production files. Reviewer attachments, discussion files and galley images are not listed.
Checking a file
- Word (.docx, .doc), PDF and RTF files get a “Check with ReferenceVerify” button (up to 50 MB). Unsupported types are labelled as such.
- The site opens in a new tab with the file loaded: bibliography check or Citation Check (chosen in the plugin settings).
Writing the report summary to OJS
- When the report is ready the site shows “Send summary to OJS”; nothing is sent unless the editor clicks it.
- Only counts and the five most important issues are sent — no manuscript text, references or personal data.
- In OJS, “Get results” in the tab adds the summary to the submission as a discussion with the assigned editors only; authors are never added.
- When summaries are waiting, the tab title shows a count, the tab shows “N summaries waiting — Get results” and the file gets a label. Optional setting: add waiting summaries automatically when the tab opens (off by default).
Reviewer suggestions
- “Show reviewer suggestions” lists candidates from the title, abstract and author names: ORCID, institution, works on the topic.
- Conflicts are flagged: co-authored with an author, same institution, retracted work. Nobody is assigned automatically.
- The site account linked to the key needs editor tools; at most 30 searches per hour per journal.
Privacy
- The file goes from your OJS server to ours over HTTPS, with the journal's plugin key, as an encrypted single-use transfer.
- The transfer is deleted when it is first opened; if it is never opened it is deleted automatically after 1 hour at most.
- The check runs in the editor's browser; references are compared with open scholarly records (Crossref, OpenAlex and others). The manuscript is not stored.
- A summary sent to OJS is kept encrypted and deleted once written to OJS, or after 7 days at most. Only the key of the journal that sent the file can fetch it.
Install
Download the package
Download the .tar.gz file with the button above; do not unpack it, it is uploaded as is.
Upload it to OJS
As site administrator: Settings → Website → Plugins → Upload A New Plugin → the downloaded file. To update an installed version, use Upgrade in the plugin's row; your settings are kept.
Enable it
Under Installed Plugins → Generic Plugins, tick “ReferenceVerify”.
Enter the key
Click Settings next to the plugin: paste the key you were given (it starts with rvojs_), choose the tool to open and leave the server address empty. Tick the box if you want waiting summaries added automatically.
There is no language setting: the site opens in each editor's OJS interface language — kaynakcadogrula.com for Turkish OJS, referenceverify.com for every other language.
How to get a key
Keys are issued per journal. Write to us through the contact form, or from Messages once signed in, with: journal name, OJS address, contact email and the site account email of the editor who will use reviewer suggestions.
- The editor needs a member account on the site; editor tools are enabled on that account for reviewer suggestions.
- The key is sent to you once and we keep only its hash. If it is lost, the old key is revoked and a new one issued.