Metadata Resolving & Incomplete Records

When it comes to resolving metadata, ReadCube handles this in slightly different ways, depending on how you import your references.

There are three ways you can import references into ReadCube, and each will impact how the app fetches and resolves reference metadata.

The first way is by manually adding references to the library (using the “Create Manual Entry” option). In this case, you manually input the metadata, including identifiers. The app does not check any data at this point, and if you don’t manually trigger a metadata check, the data will remain as is.

The second way is by using our .bib, .ris, or .csv import options. In this case, the app will run a metadata check for each imported reference. References that have identifiers will be processed, while those without identifiers will remain as imported (and their metadata will remain unchanged).

The third way is by importing references through our browser extension or from a file. Here too, the app will run a metadata check for each imported reference, unless there is no identifier. In that case, the reference will be imported as is and no metadata will be created — you’ll need to input the associated metadata manually by editing the reference.

For unresolved metadata and incomplete records, you can try to resolve them and fill in those records using two options: the “Update details” option and the “Match” feature.

The “Update details” option is only available if the reference already has an identifier. To use it, right-click the reference and select the option from the drop-down menu.

The “Match” option is available when a reference has a PDF attached. Right-clicking the reference lets you select “Match,” which opens a preview window showing the contents of the PDF, along with a sidebar that lets you choose which information to use when matching the metadata to the reference. Importantly, an identifier isn’t necessary in this case, as the app will check our internal database and offer a list of potential matches.

We cover this whole process in more detail in our matching article located here.

If neither option fills in the incomplete records, you can edit the reference and input the missing metadata manually.

Note: When references are imported into the library, ReadCube will always try to preserve the fidelity of your data. This won’t be the case for information such as authors, title, or abstract, but any data you entered manually — such as date, notes, or other fields — will be preserved.

Note 2: Our main identifier is DOI, and our application relies on it heavily. There are secondary identifiers, such as ISBN or PMID, which can help with matching functionality, but our main metadata check goes through the DOI. Using a correct DOI is the best way to ensure a positive metadata match when updating or matching references.

If you have any questions about this process, let us know — either through our support portal or directly via our support email.