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Citation Management : Home

A guide for all things citation management.

What is a Citation Manager?

When you write academic papers you will need to give credit to the works you have consulted to support your argument. Because academic papers often require a lot of citations, you can use a citation management tool to make keeping track of your sources easier!

Use this guide to help you get started using citation management software. The tabs above offer specific advice on using EndNote, EndNote Online, Mendeley, RefWorks, and Zotero, including: how to add references to specific software, how to include references in your writing, and how to generate a bibliography.

>>If you need quick reference on using a specific citation style, try using Purdue Owl.

Workshops

Things to Think About

All Citation Management tools have these basic features to help you...

  • Gather and transfer references from databases / resources / webpages into your personal research database
  • Organize, annotate, sort and search your references, images and PDFs
  • Insert in-text citations and reference lists into documents in a wide variety of styles (MLA, APA, etc)
  • Create stand alone bibliographies in a wide variety of styles

Before you choose, here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • Does the tool support the citation style(s) that you need? i.e.: MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.
  • Does the tool support the kinds of sharing capabilities that you need?
  • Is the tool compatible with the databases and/or websites that you use the most?
  • What kinds of file formats are you collecting? Does the tool capture webpage snapshots, and does it store PDFs?
  • Does the tool allow you to work off-line or from multiple places?

​Contact your Personal Librarian or subject specialist for a quick demo of these products to help you make a decision!

Check out the Comparison Charts at the bottom of this page to see the special features available within each tool!

Selecting a Tool

Unless specified by your professor or academic discipline, you have a choice when selecting a citation manager. Use the charts linked below to see an overview of the features and functionality of a few options.