ChatGPT and the potential growing of ghost bibliographic references

Enrique Orduña-Malea () and Álvaro Cabezas-Clavijo ()
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Enrique Orduña-Malea: Universitat Politècnica de València
Álvaro Cabezas-Clavijo: Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

Scientometrics, 2023, vol. 128, issue 9, No 18, 5355 pages

Abstract: Abstract This letter warns about the identification of research publications available online that contain references to non-existent papers (ghost bibliographic references). This is likely to happen due to the use of ChatGPT, a LLM-based (Large-Language Models) chatbot which generates plausible but fake bibliographic references. Although the magnitude of the problem is still unknown (it could affect only preprint platforms, predatory journals, or poor-quality publication venues) and it is expected that ChatGPT would provide true references in a short period of time, both journals and publishers must be vigilant to prevent fake references from flooding their pages.

Keywords: Science studies; Machine learning; Scientific publications; Ghost references; ChatGPT (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-023-04804-4

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