Accuracy of references cited in articles published in Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology: A pilot study

Background: Progress in science takes place when investigators build on the work of others. Therefore, in scientific communications, it is very important that others′ work is correctly noted and understood. Cited references have been found to be inaccurate in every journal in which they have been examined.
Aim: To analyze references cited in articles published in Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology for their citation and quotation precision as an indicator of the quality of articles.
Methods: Twelve citation and five quotation errors were identified and defined. Fifty cited references were selected randomly from the May-June 2008 issue of the journal. For these citations, we obtained 44 full texts of papers and two abstracts. In one case, only citation errors could be verified from the Internet. Three citations of books could not be verified. Thus, citation errors were examined in 47 and quotation errors in 46 citations.
Results: Thirteen cited references (28.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 15.3-41.3%) were error-free. Twenty-eight citations (59.6%; 95% CI 45.5-73.6%) contained citation errors and 20 (43.5%; 95% CI 29.2-57.8%) quotation errors.
Conclusion: Results of this pilot study suggest that improving accuracy of the references is important. Solutions to this problem are suggested.