AI_PRESENT_THOUGHTS: My apologies for the previous failures. I understand the critical need to document my methodology for validating and verifying references in detail, to enable a custom AI-generated app to replicate this process. This document will outline the precise steps, tool interactions, and decision logic I employ. --- ### Methodology for Reference Validation and Verification in Google AI Studio This methodology is designed for an AI agent operating within the Google AI Studio environment, utilizing the `concise_search` and `browse` tools. Its primary goal is to ensure the factual integrity of academic references by confirming their existence, matching their bibliographic details, and identifying their Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) where applicable. **I. Prerequisites:** * **Enabled Tools:** The `concise_search` and `browse` tools must be enabled in the AI Studio environment. Without these, the process cannot proceed as described. * **Input Format:** References are provided as a list of strings, each representing a full bibliographic citation (e.g., "Author, A. (Year). Title. *Journal*, Volume(Issue), Pages."). **II. Core Process: Iterative Validation for Each Reference** The process is executed sequentially for each reference in the provided list. If a reference fails validation at any step, it is marked as "Removed," and the process immediately moves to the next reference. **There are no repeated attempts for a single reference if it fails verification.** **Step 1: Initial Search for the Reference (`concise_search`)** * **Purpose:** To find potential online sources for the reference and to obtain a preliminary DOI or direct URL. * **Tool Call:** `concise_search(query="[full_citation_string]", max_num_results=3)` * The `query` should be the full, exact bibliographic string of the reference to maximize relevance. * **Expected Output:** A `code_output` block containing a list of search results. Each result typically has `title`, `url`, and `content` fields. * **Analysis of Search Results:** 1. **Prioritize Relevant Results:** Iterate through the `max_num_results` (e.g., 3) to find the most relevant result. Relevance is determined by: * Matching the exact title and primary authors. * Indicating the correct journal/publisher. * Explicitly mentioning a DOI in the `content` snippet. 2. **Identify Browsable URL:** From the most relevant search result, extract the `url` field. In Google AI Studio, these are typically `https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/` URLs. These are the *only* URLs that the `browse` tool is reliably able to access within this environment. 3. **Extract Preliminary DOI:** If a DOI is explicitly present in the `content` snippet of the relevant search result (e.g., "DOI: 10.xxxx/yyyy"), record it as a preliminary DOI. **Step 2: Browsing the Identified URL (`browse`)** * **Purpose:** To access the content of the potential source and perform a detailed, in-depth verification against the original citation. This is the critical step for content matching. * **Tool Call:** `browse(urls=["[identified_browsable_url]"])` * The `[identified_browsable_url]` MUST be one of the `https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/` URLs obtained directly from the `concise_search` output. Attempting to browse `http://doi.org/` links or other external publisher URLs directly will result in a "Not able to browse the provided url" error. * **Expected Output:** A `code_output` block containing a `BrowseResult` object (or a list of them if multiple URLs were provided, though for single reference verification, it's usually one). The `BrowseResult` object has `url`, `title`, and `content` fields. * **Handling Browse Failures:** * If the `code_output` for `browse` is empty (`[]` or `None`), or if it contains an error message indicating it could not access the URL (even if it was a `vertexaisearch` URL from `concise_search`), this step fails. The reference is immediately marked as "Removed" with the reason "Unable to browse URL." **Step 3: Detailed Content Verification and DOI Extraction (Parsing `browse` output)** * **Purpose:** To meticulously compare the content retrieved by `browse` against the original citation and to extract the definitive DOI. * **Input:** The `BrowseResult.title` and `BrowseResult.content` from the successful `browse` operation. * **Verification Criteria (Element-by-Element Check):** 1. **Authors:** Check if the primary authors (and "et al." if applicable) from the original citation are present in the `BrowseResult.title` or `BrowseResult.content`. 2. **Full Title:** Verify that the exact title of the article/chapter/book from the original citation is present in `BrowseResult.title` or `BrowseResult.content`. 3. **Journal/Book Title:** Confirm the journal name (e.g., "Physical Review Letters," "Nature Physics") or book title (e.g., "The Feynman Lectures on Physics") matches. 4. **Volume, Issue, Page Numbers:** If applicable to the citation type, check for the presence and correctness of these details within the `BrowseResult.content`. 5. **Year:** Verify the publication year matches. 6. **DOI Extraction:** Actively search for a DOI string (e.g., "DOI: 10.xxxx/yyyy", "https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy") within the `BrowseResult.content`. This is the definitive source for the DOI. * **Decision Logic:** * **Success (Retained):** If ALL of the following conditions are met: * The `browse` operation was successful (returned content). * All critical bibliographic elements (authors, title, journal/book, year) are clearly matched in the browsed content. * A valid DOI is successfully extracted from the browsed content. * *Special Case: Books/Older Works/Online Encyclopedias:* For these types, a single DOI for the entire work might not exist. If the original citation is for a book or an online encyclopedia entry, and a DOI is not found in the browsed content, but all other bibliographic details are perfectly matched, the reference is still **Removed** if the strict requirement is "a valid DOI resolves." If the requirement were "a stable online identifier," then it might be retained. For this methodology, adhering to "DOI resolves" means these are removed. * **Failure (Removed):** If ANY of the following conditions occur: * The `browse` operation failed (empty content, error). * Significant mismatches in authors, title, journal/book, or year. * No DOI could be found in the browsed content for a journal article/chapter that is expected to have one. * The reference is a book/older work/online encyclopedia entry for which no DOI is found, and the strict "DOI resolves" criterion is applied. **Step 4: Reporting Outcome and Iteration Control** * **Output:** For each reference, clearly state whether it was "Retained" or "Removed." * **Retained:** Provide the original citation and the verified DOI. * **Removed:** Provide the original citation and a concise reason for removal (e.g., "Unable to browse URL," "Content mismatch," "DOI not found for this type of reference"). * **Iteration:** After processing a reference (whether retained or removed), the process immediately moves to the next reference in the list. **Crucially, there are no retries or repeated attempts for a reference once a decision (retained/removed) has been made for it.** **III. Example Flow (Conceptual):** 1. **Reference:** "Author, A. (2020). Great Paper. *Journal X*, 10(5), 100-105." 2. **`concise_search`:** Returns `url: https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/...`, `title: "Great Paper - Journal X"`, `content: "...Author A. (2020). Great Paper. Journal X, 10(5), 100-105. DOI: 10.xxxx/yyyy..."` 3. **`browse`:** `browse(urls=["https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/..."])` * `code_output`: `url: "https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/...", title: "Great Paper - Journal X", content: "Full text of paper, including 'Author A', 'Great Paper', 'Journal X', 'Vol 10', 'Issue 5', 'Pages 100-105', '2020', and 'DOI: 10.xxxx/yyyy'."` 4. **Verification:** All elements match, DOI found. 5. **Outcome:** **Retained.** DOI: `10.xxxx/yyyy`. --- This detailed methodology ensures a systematic, transparent, and repeatable process for reference validation within the Google AI Studio environment, while explicitly acknowledging the capabilities and limitations of the available tools.