Identify the exact cited work
Begin with the paper cited in an AI answer or your own project note. Compare its title and identifier with the destination you can open. A search result about a similarly named paper is not a substitute for the cited item.
Write the particular statement you intend to support. You need to know whether an update affects that statement, rather than treating the paper as a single unrestricted endorsement of your whole summary.
Open the status information
Crossref describes Crossmark as a way to expose corrections, retractions and other updates reported by participating publishers. The button can appear in an article page or a PDF. Crossref also says its presence is not a guarantee. Source
The Crossmark FAQ makes a further distinction: seeing the button does not establish that your particular copy is up to date. Click it, read the status and follow the maintained-copy or update links it provides. Source
Do not stop at an icon in an old downloaded PDF. If the status cannot be retrieved, record that access gap. Absence of a button also cannot serve as an all-clear statement about a work’s history.
Connect the notice to the claim
| Evidence to retain | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Work title and identifier | Keeps the check attached to the correct item |
| Status read and access date | Separates the present check from your download date |
| Notice address and wording | Shows what the update actually says |
| Passage used in your summary | Identifies the assertion that may need revision |
| Unavailable material | Prevents a missing notice from becoming an invented conclusion |
Read the notice before deciding what to change. An illustrative correction to a figure label and a withdrawal of a central result require different revisions. Do not guess the scope from the word “correction” alone, and do not infer misconduct beyond what a notice actually states.
Revise the summary explicitly
If the update changes a statement you used, revise that statement and retain a reference to the notice. If you cannot determine the effect, mark the claim unresolved instead of letting an AI system choose a confident interpretation.
This procedure checks source currency, not the quality of a study’s methods or the truth of every assertion. For the rest of the citation review, use the AI-assisted public-source checklist.
The TraceSeek capability overview describes a broader search and analysis route. It does not establish an automatic Crossmark integration or independent validation of academic findings.