New project to improve biomedical citation accuracy and integrity

Halil Kilicoglu
Halil Kilicoglu, Associate Professor
Jodi Schneider
Jodi Schneider, Associate Professor

A new project led by Associate Professor Halil Kilicoglu and Associate Professor Jodi Schneider will assist researchers and journals in evaluating citation behavior in biomedical publications. They recently received a two-year, $300,000 grant from the Office of Research Integrity of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for their project, "Natural Language Processing to Assess and Improve Citation Integrity in Biomedical Publications."

While citations play a fundamental role in the diffusion of scientific knowledge and assessment of research on a topic, they are often inaccurate (e.g., citation of nonexistent findings, inappropriate interpretation). This inaccuracy undermines the integrity of scientific literature and distorts the perception of available scientific evidence.

"A recent meta-analysis showed that 25.4 percent of medical articles contained a citation error," said Kilicoglu. "A bibliometric analysis revealed that inaccurate citations of a letter published in 1980 may have contributed to the opioid crisis."

For their project, Kilicoglu and Schneider will develop and validate resources and natural language processing/artificial intelligence models to aid stakeholders in assessing biomedical publications for citation accuracy and integrity. Stakeholders who will benefit from these new models and tools include authors, journals and peer reviewers, research administrators, funders, and policymakers.

"In the long term, these new resources can mitigate the detrimental effects of poor citation practices," said Kilicoglu.

Kilicoglu's research interests include biomedical informatics, natural language processing, knowledge representation, scholarly communication, and scientific reproducibility. Prior to joining the iSchool faculty, Kilicoglu worked as a research scientist at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. He holds a PhD in computer science from Concordia University.

Schneider studies the science of science through the lens of arguments, evidence, and persuasion. Her long-term research agenda analyzes controversies applying science to public policy; how knowledge brokers influence citizens; and whether controversies are sustained by citizens' disparate interpretations of scientific evidence and its quality. Schneider holds a PhD in informatics from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and master's degrees in library and information science from the University of Illinois and mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Gore honored in Singapore for community service

BSIS student Saloni Gore is passionate about community service, especially projects related to sustainability and social impact. It is this commitment to making a difference that prompted her to start a project to help provide clean water to rural communities in India and led her from Singapore to the iSchool, where she can learn how to use data and technology to benefit the world.

Saloni Gore

Kilhoffer defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Zachary Kilhoffer successfully defended his dissertation, "Human Factors in the Standardization of AI Governance: Improving the Design of Risk Management Standards for Ethical AI," on January 24, 2025.

Zak Kilhoffer - square

Han defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Kanyao Han successfully defended his dissertation, "Natural Language Processing for Supporting Impact Assessment of Funded Projects," on January 7, 2025.

Kanyao Han

Tibebu joins the School

The iSchool is pleased to announce that Haileleol Tibebu joined the faculty as a teaching assistant professor on January 1, 2025. His research and teaching interests include responsible AI, AI policy and governance, algorithmic fairness, and the intersection of technology and society.

Haileleol Tibebu

Spectrum Scholar Spotlight: Leslie Lopez

Twelve iSchool master's students were named 2024–2025 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This “Spectrum Scholar Spotlight” series highlights the School’s scholars. MSLIS student Leslie Lopez graduated from the University of North Texas with a BA in psychology.

Leslie Lopez headshot