Published 16 September 2026
How to verify a scientific article by DOI
A DOI is useful because it persists when an article moves to another address. Yet verification should not stop when the link opens. A valid DOI can identify a different work, while a correct record can temporarily point to an unavailable publisher page.
Prepare the identifier
Remove “doi:”, “https://doi.org/”, whitespace and sentence punctuation. For example, “https://doi.org/10.1000/xyz123.” becomes “10.1000/xyz123”. Do not guess corrections, because one changed character may identify another record.
Check resolution and metadata
Open the identifier through doi.org, then search it in Crossref Metadata Search. Compare the full title, available authors, journal, year, volume, issue and pages. Reaching a publisher page without agreement on these fields is not the end of the check.
Record the limits
If Crossref has no result, another registration agency or a deposit delay may be involved. If the DOI exists, that establishes a registered object, not indexing, peer review or identity of the submitted PDF. IlmiyChek reports those questions separately.
Example
A PDF contains the illustrative DOI 10.1000/xyz123. Remove the “https://doi.org/” prefix and trailing punctuation, then check the normalised string through the DOI resolver and Crossref. Matching title and authors support the bibliographic record but do not establish that the uploaded file is identical to the publisher version.
Verification sources
- DOI Foundation — DOI resolverResolves a registered DOI to the destination chosen by its registrant.
- Crossref Metadata SearchBibliographic metadata deposited by participating publishers and agencies.