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Case Reports
. 2024 Apr 1;112(2):133-139.
doi: 10.5195/jmla.2024.1718. Epub 2024 May 22.

MEDLINE citation tool accuracy: an analysis in two platforms

Laurel Scheinfeld  1 , Sunny Chung  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

MEDLINE citation tool accuracy: an analysis in two platforms

Laurel Scheinfeld et al. J Med Libr Assoc. .

Abstract

Background: Libraries provide access to databases with auto-cite features embedded into the services; however, the accuracy of these auto-cite buttons is not very high in humanities and social sciences databases.

Case presentation: This case compares two biomedical databases, Ovid MEDLINE and PubMed, to see if either is reliable enough to confidently recommend to students for use when writing papers. A total of 60 citations were assessed, 30 citations from each citation generator, based on the top 30 articles in PubMed from 2010 to 2020.

Conclusions: Error rates were higher in Ovid MEDLINE than PubMed but neither database platform provided error-free references. The auto-cite tools were not reliable. Zero of the 60 citations examined were 100% correct. Librarians should continue to advise students not to rely solely upon citation generators in these biomedical databases.

Keywords: Auto-citation generator; Ovid MEDLINE; PubMed; biomedical databases; citation on demand; information literacy; librarians.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
APA Style, 7th Edition Sample Journal Article Citation (Journal Article References, n.d.)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of sample journal article citation from Ovid MEDLINE citation generator (A) screenshot versus (B) same citation copied and pasted into a document using the ‘copy' button. Note journal name and volume number are not italicized in the copied and pasted citation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Elements with the highest number of errors and Total errors per database
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage of errors in PubMed
Figure 5
Figure 5
Percentage of errors in OVID
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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