Research Guides: Citing & Referencing: Citation Management

Citation Management

Citation management software allows you to store and organize your resources and citation information easily. You will be able to create databases of citations or references to books, journal articles, and web sites used in your research. The software allows you to easily insert your citations within a research paper as in-text references, footnotes, or endnotes, and the creation of a formatted bibliography using a citation style of choice (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

For help with citation management software, contact libhelp@brocku.ca.

What Citation Management Software is Available?

Several free and open-source Citation Management Tools are available. Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote are three popular tools. Zotero is popular for use in the Social Sciences and Humanities, while Mendeley is popular for use in the Sciences.

While each citation management tool provides some unique features, all of the following tools can help you:

Access and manage your sources online, all in one place
Import references from library databases and websites (some tools also import references from PDFs!)
Automatically generate bibliographies and in-text citations within Microsoft Word (some tools also work with OpenOffice)

Comparison charts for Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote:

Citation Manager Comparison Chart (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Compares EndNote, Mendeley, and Zotero.
Citation Manager Comparison Chart (MIT)
Compares Mendeley and Zotero.
Citation Manager Comparison Chart (University of Oxford, UK))
Compares RefWorks, EndNote, EndNote Online, Zotero, and Mendeley.
Video: Comparing EndNote, Mendeley, and Zotero

Zotero

Zotero
Zotero is a citation management tool that allows you to save references from library catalogues, databases, and web sites easily with a single click. Zotero helps you to collect, manage, and cite your research sources using in-text references, footnotes, or endnotes, as well creating a formatted bibliography in your choice of citation style.
Why Zotero?
Why is Zotero a good choice for your citation management needs?
Video: Introduction to Zotero
Video: Using Zotero
Mastering Zotero (York University)
This five-unit course assumes you understand the basics of working with Zotero, and will turn you into a power user.

EndNote

EndNote Basic
EndNote is a citation management tool used by researchers, faculty, and students to store, organize and cite references in a personal library. You can use your references in word-processing documents to create formatted citations and bibliographies or independent reference lists.

The version of EndNote basic available as part of the Web of Science has thousands of styles and hundreds of filters and connection files. This version is accessible by those whose institution has a subscription to the Web of Science.
EndNote Basic: Quick Reference Guide
Register for EndNote
Video: Introduction to EndNote
EndNote Tutorial: how to add a PDF to EndNote

Mendeley

Mendeley
Mendeley is a free desktop and Web solution designed for managing and sharing research papers, discovering research data and collaborating online. It combines Mendeley Desktop, a PDF and reference management application with Mendeley Web, an online social network for researchers.
Create a free Mendeley account
Download Mendeley Desktop
Getting started with Mendeley Web
Video: Setting Up Your Account & Overview of Mendeley

Citing & Referencing

Need Help?

Citation Management

What Citation Management Software is Available?

Zotero

EndNote

Mendeley

Citation Management Tools: An Introduction