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How to Choose a Citation Manager

Adapted with permission from “ Choosing a Citation Manager ,” copyright © 2011 The Pennsylvania State University.

Citation Manager Comparison Table

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Open sourcetools

Your personal research assistant

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research.

Available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and iOS

Just need to create a quick bibliography? Try ZoteroBib .

Meet Zotero.

Collect with a click..

Zotero automatically senses research as you browse the web. Need an article from JSTOR or a preprint from arXiv.org? A news story from the New York Times or a book from a library? Zotero has you covered, everywhere.

Organize your way.

Zotero helps you organize your research any way you want. You can sort items into collections and tag them with keywords. Or create saved searches that automatically fill with relevant materials as you work.

Cite in style.

Zotero instantly creates references and bibliographies for any text editor, and directly inside Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. With support for over 9,000 citation styles, you can format your work to match any style guide or publication.

Stay in sync.

Zotero can optionally synchronize your data across devices, keeping your files, notes, and bibliographic records seamlessly up to date. If you decide to sync, you can also always access your research from any web browser.

Collaborate freely.

Zotero lets you co-write a paper with a colleague, distribute course materials to students, or build a collaborative bibliography. You can share a Zotero library with as many people you like, at no cost.

Zotero is open source and developed by an independent, nonprofit organization that has no financial interest in your private information. With Zotero, you always stay in control of your own data.

Still not sure which program to use for your research? See why we think you should choose Zotero .

Ready to try Zotero?

Reference management. Clean and simple.

What is the best reference manager?

There are several good reference managers out there, each with its own strengths. Paperpile, Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley are popular choices. Finding the best reference manager for your research process and personal preferences can be challenging. This guide is here to help you with your decision.

The table below compares the most important features of these four popular reference managers.

If you’re looking for the best reference manager for your research process, try Paperpile :

• Collect references and PDFs directly from websites and databases and save them to your library with one click
• Highlight text and add notes to your PDFs
• Access your library wherever you are
• Add citations and bibliographies to Google Docs and MS Word documents with ease

“One place to organize all the PDF documents, including scientific papers and books. Being able to access them through Google Drive is a game changer.”

-Research Scientist, Boston Dynamics AI Institute

Read more about reference managers:

Other interesting topics:.

All your papers in one place. Nice and tidy.

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Choosing the Right Citation Management Tool: Endnote, Mendeley, Refworks, or Zotero

EndNote.  Clarivate Analytics,  1500 Spring Garden Street, Fourth Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19130;    http://endnote.com ; standard edition,  $249.95. ; student pricing available; cost includes unlimited cloud storage; EndNote web included with some library subscriptions to other Clarivate products. 

Mendeley.  Elsevier,  Suite 800, 230 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10169;    http://www.mendeley.com ; basic account free; includes 2GB online storage; premium and institutional accounts and additional storage plans available for purchase. 

RefWorks.  ProQuest,  789 East Eisenhower Parkway, Ann Arbor, MI 48108;    http://refworks.proquest.com ; institutional subscriptions only; contact vendor for pricing. 

Zotero.  Roy Rozenzweig Center for History and New Media,  George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MSN 1E7, Fairfax, VA 22030;    https://www.zotero.org ; free; includes 300 MB online storage; storage plans available for purchase. 

INTRODUCTION

Citation management has not always been as easy as it is today. Years ago, references were manually organized on index cards, an awkward and time-consuming process. Citation management software was introduced in the 1980s and used primarily to organize references, search databases for articles on a particular topic, and generate bibliographies [ 1 ]. Over the years, users’ needs have changed, technology has advanced, and many new features have been added, including options for social networking and portable document format file (PDF) management.

There are now many bibliographic management packages available and many factors to consider when choosing the product that best meets the needs of the individual user or institution. Popular tools include RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, and F1000 Workspace. This review will cover the first four; F1000 Workspace was reviewed in the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) in 2017 [ 2 ].

First released in 1988 [ 3 ], EndNote is a commercial product that is primarily marketed via sales of its desktop application (currently version X8). A basic online version is free, but it has limited features and functionality. RefWorks, first released in 2001 [ 4 ], is an entirely web-based application marketed to libraries as an institution-wide tool, though a vendor representative indicated that individual accounts used to be available and will be offered again [ 5 ]. The product is currently transitioning to a new interface, referred to by the vendor as “new RefWorks.” Zotero’s free, open source citation manager was initially introduced in 2006 as an extension for the Firefox web browser. It is now available as a standalone application [ 6 ]. First released in 2008 [ 7 ], Mendeley is a free cloud-based citation manager with desktop and online versions. It also serves as an academic research network, offering a variety of social networking features.

All four products share a core set of features that allow users to import, organize, and manage citations and associated full text. Users can import references from a variety of databases, create in-text citations and bibliographies, and import bibliographic information from web pages. All offer an extensive list of citation styles and the ability to edit existing styles and create new ones.

The remainder of this review focuses on how these products differ with respect to the most commonly used features of citation managers and the advantages and disadvantages of each product. Table 1 summarizes key differences between the products. This review is based primarily on current desktop versions (if applicable) of the products as of February 2018, though online versions are discussed as needed to provide a complete picture of a tool’s functionality. For Mendeley, this review covers the free version only. For RefWorks, this review covers the new RefWorks only; it does not address the older version, known as Legacy RefWorks.

Citation management tools at a glance

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS, BROWSER EXTENSIONS, AND MOBILE APPS

All four products offer plug-ins for Microsoft Word. EndNote, Mendeley, and Zotero offer desktop clients, while RefWorks is entirely web-based. Table 1 shows platforms and browser compatibility. All four products offer a web-based version that works with recent versions of popular browsers. Some tools offer plug-ins for other browsers as well, and all offer browser add-ons (bookmarklets, extensions, etc.) for importing bibliographic information from web pages. The Mendeley browser add-on functions only with the online version of Mendeley; the Zotero add-on requires the desktop version for full functionality; and the EndNote add-on can be used in the desktop and online versions.

Of the four products, only EndNote and Mendeley offer mobile apps. While RefWorks and Zotero do not have mobile apps, they do have mobile-friendly sites.

SEARCHES FOR AND IMPORTING OF REFERENCES

All four tools allow users to import files of references from databases or other citation management tools. Users can search within databases, mark references to save or export, and select from a variety of options to add references to their preferred citation manager tools. Choosing a direct export option opens any of these tools that are installed on users’ computers, and references can be added with one mouse-click. Each of the products has direct export options for at least one of the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, EBSCO (CINAHL), and ProQuest (PsycINFO). All four systems allow direct export of records from EBSCO (CINAHL), while EndNote is the only tool that has a direct export option for PubMed.

Users can also use the browser add-ons to automatically import references into their reference collections. The add-ons for Mendeley, RefWorks, and Zotero allow users to import references to their reference collections from multiple databases. Depending on the database, users can select individual references or batches, and the references and associated PDFs are imported. Mendeley and Zotero users can use the browser add-ons to import references from PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct. Using Zotero, the reviewers were able to import references from ProQuest (PsycINFO), but the Mendeley browser add-on was not able to recognize the bibliographic metadata in ProQuest (PsycINFO) references. Errors were experienced with both Mendeley and Zotero when we imported references from EBSCO (CINAHL).

EndNote’s Capture Reference bookmarklet has more limited functionality than the browser add-ons for the other three products. When displaying a list of PubMed search results, Capture Reference only imported all references on the page; it did not allow us to select specific references to import. Capture Reference did not work at all for us with a list of results from Google Scholar. The only way to import these results was to open each one and then capture it. It also did not directly capture bibliographic information about web pages as easily as the other add-ons did. When we attempted to import information about a web page using Capture Reference, it created an RIS file that we then had to import into EndNote, whereas the other three add-ons added information about web pages directly.

The tools also offer several other ways to add references. Mendeley users can add references by entering a PubMed ID (PMID), digital object (DOI), or ArXivID. Similarly, Zotero users can add references using the international standard book number (ISBN), DOI, or PMID. In the online version of Mendeley, users can search and import references from Mendeley’s web catalog, a collection of all the references that have been added to the personal libraries of Mendeley users [ 8 ]. EndNote and RefWorks also allow users to search databases and library catalogs from within the application and import selected search results. EndNote offers an extensive list of free and commercial databases for searching. As of this writing, the new RefWorks only offers PubMed and the Library of Congress as search options, and, when tested, neither search option was functional. According to the RefWorks lead product manager, institutional account administrators can allow users to search any database that is accessible via the Z39.50 search standard. He also indicated that ProQuest is building application programming interfaces (APIs) to integrate RefWorks with other ProQuest tools such as Summon and Primo, which should increase in-app search options [ 5 ].

CREATION OF BIBLIOGRAPHIES

All four applications allow users to create standalone bibliographies in virtually any word processor, including Google Docs. With EndNote, users can create a standalone bibliography by selecting citations and an output style, and copying and pasting into a word processor document. EndNote also allows users to create a subject bibliography that is based on one or more keywords in users’ citations. Both Mendeley and Zotero allow users to drag references from the desktop client into a word processor, where they will be formatted according to the style that users have selected, the quickest and most user-friendly method of bibliography creation. RefWorks includes a feature that allows users to generate a bibliography from a batch of references in a folder, but that feature did not work when we tested it, leaving no way to generate standalone bibliographies from citations.

More commonly, users create bibliographies from in-text citations in a manuscript. All four tools offer Microsoft Word plug-ins to support this functionality. Table 1 provides details about which tools work with other word processors. In EndNote, the bibliography is automatically generated as the citations are inserted into the document. In Mendeley, RefWorks, and Zotero, inserting a citation and creating a bibliography are separate steps, and at least one citation must be added to the document in order to create a bibliography. All four products made occasional small errors in citations, especially when we cited web pages, but Mendeley performed especially poorly, omitting key information from web page citations, such as date accessed.

MANAGEMENT AND ANNOTATION OF PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT FILES

Each tool offers different options for adding PDF documents. All four systems allow users to add PDF documents by dragging and dropping them into their reference collections and by attaching them to existing citations. EndNote and Mendeley users can drag and drop PDFs both individually and in folders. RefWorks users can only add PDFs one at a time, while Zotero users can add multiple PDFs at once. Mendeley users can also add PDFs by putting them in a designated folder called a Watch Folder. Mendeley monitors the contents of these folders and automatically adds any PDFs to reference collections.

All four products can generate metadata from PDFs to create a citation record, but they use somewhat different methods to do so. When we tested articles from three different journals, all four products extracted metadata inconsistently and occasionally inaccurately. For example, one product extracted metadata completely for a given article, while another failed to extract key information (e.g. author name, page numbers) from the same PDF, and a third failed to import any metadata from the PDF. All products exhibited these failures, though RefWorks appeared to be the least accurate, with at least one significant error with each of the three PDFs that we tested.

All of the products, other than Zotero, support PDF annotation in the application. Zotero users can open PDFs in the application of their choice, annotate them, and save them back to the Zotero database. An add-on called Zotfile [ 9 ] allows users to extract annotations and perform other PDF management tasks.

INTEGRATION WITH LIBRARY COLLECTIONS

EndNote and Zotero can use an openURL link resolver to help users retrieve full text from a library’s electronic collections. Users can specify the baseURL of their libraries’ link resolver in the product settings, and the products will use metadata from a citation in their libraries to attempt to locate full text for that item. In Zotero, this feature is called Library Lookup. Users click on a reference in their collections, and if full text is found, the PDF file can be easily dragged and dropped into their reference collections. EndNote users can access full-text through their institutions by using the Find Full Text feature. Mendeley used to allow integration with a library’s link resolver but no longer offers this feature [ 8 ]. For RefWorks, institutional administrators can configure a link resolver for all users at that institution.

COLLABORATION AND SOCIAL NETWORKING

According to RefWorks documentation, RefWorks users can only share collections with users at their own institutions [ 10 ]. The RefWorks senior product manager indicated, however, that as of fall 2017, RefWorks users can share folders with other RefWorks users across institutions [ 5 ]. EndNote X7 and X8 users can share with each other in groups of up to 100 members [ 11 ]. Mendeley and Zotero users can create both public and private groups [ 12 , 13 ], though Mendeley users with a free account can create and own only one private group, and private groups created by free accounts are limited to three members [ 14 ]. Mendeley offers additional social networking features in the online version that the other products do not provide. Mendeley users can search for and follow other researchers with similar interests and receive updates on actions and events of researchers they are following via the Mendeley Newsfeed [ 12 ].

OFFLINE AVAILABILITY

EndNote, Mendeley, and Zotero collections and documents are stored locally and, therefore, available offline. RefWorks is a purely cloud-based system, so access to the application itself is not available offline. Users can, however, link a DropBox account to RefWorks to provide offline access to full-text documents in RefWorks [ 10 ].

UNIQUE FEATURES

Of the four products, EndNote is the only one that offers a journal matching feature, known as Manuscript Matcher, to help users find the right journal for their manuscripts. Users of the online version can provide their article titles, abstracts, and references, and EndNote will provide a list of journal recommendations based on its analysis of Web of Science citation data [ 15 ]. RefWorks is the only product to offer a plug-in for Google Docs, an especially useful feature at universities where Google tools are used heavily by students. It is also the only fully cloud-based product. While both Mendeley and Zotero are free, Zotero is the only open-source product among the four. Its source code is hosted on GitHub and freely available under an AGPLv3 license [ 16 ].

All four of the tools reviewed here are usable for standard reference manager functions, and each has strengths and weaknesses. For example, in our testing, Zotero’s browser add-on was the easiest to use and captured data more accurately than the other add-ons did. EndNote offered the most choices for searching databases within the tool, and Zotero generated the most accurate bibliographies. Each also offers unique features that may be especially valuable to certain populations (e.g., RefWorks’ integration with Google Docs, Mendeley’s social networking functions). Often, though, the best choice for a given purpose may be determined by factors other than the functionality of the applications themselves. These factors include cost, support provided by institutions, research needs, familiarity with a product from previous experience, and accessibility for the research team members. For example, if users are working on a systematic review with authors at several institutions, they will need to choose a tool that is accessible to everyone on the team. Since users are not limited to the citation managers supported by their institutions, information professionals need to be familiar with all popular choices in order to guide and support their users effectively.

Which reference manager?: Comparison of EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero

• Comparison of EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero
• Referencing guides

Reference management tools

A reference management tool is a software for storing and managing information resources. Generally, a reference management tool can help you:

• import references from search engines, databases and websites 
• save PDFs, images and other documents
• annotate PDFs
• insert citations and create bibliographies on Word documents  
• collaborate with other researchers

EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero are the most popular reference management tools used by many researchers and students.

Find more details about these three tools in the following comparison table and detailed instructions in our online guides for each tool.

EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero: which is the best tool for you

 The following comparison table of EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero may help you choose a right tool to meet your research needs.

• Next: Referencing guides >>
• Last Updated: Jan 25, 2023 11:42 AM
• URL: https://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/managingreferences

10 Best Reference Management Software for Research

Table of Contents

Introduction

That’s where reference management software comes in. It can help you gather, organize, and cite your sources more effectively- saving you time and energy in the long run. 

But with so many different types of software to choose from, how do you know which one is right for you? 

Why Use A Reference Management Software For Research?

2. It makes collaboration much easier. Have a group project? Reference management software will help you share resources with ease. No more passing around notes or spending hours trying to compile everything together by hand!

Best Reference Management Software

Mendeley-most popular reference management tool.

Mendeley is a software that helps researchers manage their references. It can be used to create bibliographies and citations, and it also allows users to collaborate with other researchers. Mendeley can be accessed online or offline, and it is available for both Windows and Mac users.

Pricing/Free Version

Zotero-Free Citation Management Software

Zotero helps you stay organized by allowing you to collect and save information about your sources in one place.

Citavi – Powerful Thematic Knowledge Organization Tool 

But perhaps the best thing about RefWorks is its collaborative features. With RefWorks, you can share your references with colleagues or classmates and work together on projects. You can also create groups to collaborate on research topics.

Sciwheel – Next Generation Reference Managers

Ultimate guide to best reference management softwares for academic research, what is a reference management software.

Citation managers help you find sources more quickly and easily. Most programs have built-in search engines that allow you to quickly find articles and other resources related to your topic. They also allow you to save search parameters and customize your results. The more sources you find, the better equipped you will be to make an informed decision about how to word your paper’s thesis statement and plan out the rest of the writing process.

What Features Should You Look For In A Reference Management Software?

Final thoughts.

In scholarly articles and research documents, citations play an important role for both researchers and readers. It is also very time-consuming to integrate these citations accurately into research documents without the aid of reference management software. 

There is more.

10 thoughts on “10 best reference management software for research”.

Thank you so much for all this information. It was a great read and gave me some good cites to look into. However, I would recommend that you also look into Opendemia. Opendemia allows students to manage their references, take notes, and create bibliographies. This tool has really helped me with my research papers and I think other students reading this article can benefit from this as well.

Thanks for the comment. We will look into it.

Thank you! Here is the website: https://www.opendemia.com

Thank you for a good overview, very helpful. I just want to mention that as a researcher it is very important for me to have a product that can last me throughout my career. In my mind, this requires, for a good and bad, a bigger company behind the product. I believe this is something you should also consider here.

Interesting point Peter. Love to hear more elaboration from you!

I agree. A single, reliable software package that works for your entire career sounds wonderful. Having to learn new packages, or even new versions of your old package is a waste of time. It may tickle the fancy of computer nerds and business folks who want a steady stream of income. However, adapting to the newest and latest software every few years sounds like self-abuse to me.

Thanks for the overview. You say that EndNote one-time cost is $99. I’m quoted almost four times that amount. Is that possible a regional issue? (I am in Iceland)

I ran a quick check and saw that upgrading from the trial will cost from USD $99.95 to USD $109.95. I’m not sure how they could quote you 4X as much.

Some of the reference managers mentioned in the article are no longer available. However, it’s worth noting that there are newer options like CiteDrive, which is considered one of the most modern reference managers available. Overall, it’s a great article!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Mendeley vs Zotero: Which Is Best For Citation Management?

Choosing a citation management tool can be overwhelming, particularly when deciding between Mendeley and Zotero. Each offers unique features tailored to enhance academic research and organisation.

This article delves into the core differences between Mendeley and Zotero, examining aspects from storage and file management to user interface and collaboration features. 

Our goal is to help you determine which tool best aligns with your research needs and collaborative style, making your citation management more efficient and tailored.

Mendeley vs Zotero

What Is Mendeley?

Mendeley is a standout reference and citation management system that helps you to: 

• organize your research,
• manage citations, and 
• share insights with colleagues 

Using Mendeley, you can import PDF files from your desktop or directly from the web. This is complemented by plugins for web browsers that enable a single-click capture of research papers and their metadata into your personal library.

One feature you will appreciate is the ability to cite directly from Mendeley into your word processor. It also automatically adapting to the citation style you choose—whether APA, MLA, or any of the thousands available.

For collaborative projects, Mendeley allows you to share citations and documents within a private group or invite-only public group, supporting up to 25 members for free. This makes it incredibly easy to manage joint research efforts. 

What Is Zotero?

Zotero stands out as a free, open-source reference manager that simplifies the lives of researchers like you by managing bibliographies and citations in research papers.

One of Zotero’s most lauded features is its ability to seamlessly capture citations from the web with its browser extension. 

You will also find Zotero incredibly helpful for organizing research material thanks to its powerful tagging and searching capabilities.

These allow you to easily find any piece of work, whether it’s a PDF file or a web link. Zotero syncs all your data across devices, making your database accessible wherever you are.

Zotero also supports group libraries, enabling you to collaborate and share research materials and citations with peers.

Mendeley vs Zotero: What Are The Differences?

While both Mendeley and Zotero offer robust solutions in organising your research, they come in slightly different flavors. Here are some ways they are different from each other.

Storage Options

Mendeley offers you 2GB of free cloud storage. This might sound generous until you see Zotero’s approach: it starts you off with 300MB of free cloud storage but doesn’t limit you to its own cloud.

Zotero allows you to sync your data with any WebDAV server, providing flexibility if you need more space.

This can be particularly useful if your research involves a lot of large files and you are comfortable managing your own data backups.

File Management

Mendeley stands out with its integrated PDF reader. This allows you to annotate and highlight PDFs directly within the app.

If you spend a lot of time reviewing journal articles, this feature turns Mendeley into not just a citation tool but a comprehensive review platform. 

Zotero’s PDF handling is more about organization than annotation. It does allow PDF indexing for easy searchability within the app, but for in-depth PDF editing, you would need to use another program.

Citation Styles and Flexibility

Both tools support thousands of citation styles, from APA to lesser-known types tailored to specific academic journals.

However, Zotero takes the lead in how easily you can switch between styles and even customize them.

Thanks to its active community forums and open-source nature, it may be easier to work on your citations in Mendeley, be it to:

This openness can be a significant advantage if your field requires a highly specific citation format that isn’t mainstream.

User Interface and Experience

Mendeley’s interface is often praised for its sleekness and ease of use, particularly in how it integrates document management directly into the citation process.

There’s also support for many devices, such as Mendeley Desktop.

The newly designed Mendeley Reference Manager simplifies how you interact with your library and annotations. Zotero’s interface, while highly functional, can feel a bit more utilitarian.

The trade-off is that Zotero offers more flexibility in organizing your research materials through its tagging and folder systems.

Collaboration Features

Both platforms allow you to share your research with others, which is essential for collaborative projects.

Mendeley limits you to creating private groups with up to 25 members, which might be sufficient for most projects but could be restrictive for larger collaborative efforts.

Zotero, in contrast, lets you create unlimited public or private groups, which is a boon if you’re working in large teams or need to manage multiple projects with different groups of colleagues.

How To Choose Between Mendeley and Zotero?

Deciding between Zotero and Mendeley for managing your research can feel daunting.

Both tools come highly recommended, but each has distinct features that may suit different research needs. Here’s how you can choose the right one for you.

How Frequently Do You Work With PDFs?

If you frequently work with PDFs, you might lean towards Mendeley. It has an integrated PDF viewer that lets you annotate and highlight documents directly within the application.

This is immensely helpful if you’re someone who likes to add notes and insights directly onto your research materials.

Plus, Mendeley’s 2GB of free cloud storage means you can sync your annotated files across all your devices without fuss.

How Broad Are Your Resource Types?

On the other hand, if your work involves a broad array of source types or you require more flexible storage options, consider to use Zotero instead.

Zotero is open source and supports a wide variety of reference types and metadata from webpages, which is perfect if your research pulls from diverse resources.

Additionally, Zotero’s capability to sync with any WebDAV server gives you more control over where and how your data is stored.

Do You Need Collaboration Features?

Collaboration features also differ significantly between the two.

\Mendeley allows you to create private groups with up to 25 members—sufficient for most projects but limiting for larger teams.

Zotero, meanwhile, offers the ability to create unlimited public and private groups, which is invaluable for large-scale research projects involving many collaborators.

Do You Need Community Support & Customisation?

For those who value community support and the flexibility to customize tools, Zotero’s strong community platform and forums are a treasure trove of tips, tricks, and custom citation styles.

In many cases, you may find Zotero easier to be adjusted to your specific needs, compared to Mendeley.

Are There Alternatives to Mendeley And Zotero?

Mendeley and Zotero are not the only citation management systems out there, which means you can find alternatives if you want to use something else.

EndNote is particularly well-suited for those deep in complex research. It’s more than a citation manager; it integrates with Microsoft Word to create bibliographies and manage references as you write.

EndNote stands out with its ability to handle a large number of citation styles and its robust database syncing capabilities. This ensures your library is always up-to-date across all your devices.

ReadCube Papers

ReadCube Papers is a newer player that has quickly gained traction due to its modern interface and powerful features. It excels in manuscript matching, helping you find the best journal for your research.

Like Mendeley, it allows PDF annotations directly in the app and offers excellent support for importing PDF metadata, streamlining how you organize your articles.

Citavi is unique because it not only manages citations but also aids in knowledge organization. You can annotate PDFs, save quotations, and create task lists directly in the app.

Citavi’s project management features are a boon if you’re juggling multiple research projects, allowing you to track progress in one place.

Mendeley vs Zotero Citation Manager Comparison

Choosing between Mendeley and Zotero for citation management boils down to your specific needs. Mendeley is ideal if you value a sleek interface and integrated PDF annotations, suitable for solo projects or small teams.

Zotero excels in flexible storage options, extensive customization, and is better suited for large-scale collaborations due to its capability to handle unlimited groups.

Evaluate your primary requirements in research management to make the best choice between these two robust tools.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

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Speedy Citations: 6 Reference Management Software Solutions for Your Research

#scribendiinc

Written by  Scribendi

Students, academics, authors, and researchers generally have to do a lot of online research. With so many different databases, online journals, and websites, it can be overwhelming to manage and organize so many references—especially if you're doing it manually.

Did you know that there are programs that can actually manage and keep track of your references for you? If not, then you are in for a treat!

Many reference management software programs make the process of managing your references nearly effortless. Here are the top 6, as determined by Scribendi's research.

Up Close: The 6 Best Reference Management Software Programs

Managing your references online doesn't have to be hard, e specially when citation programs exist that let you easily organize and cite your references.

Reference managers take the effort out of storing references, categorizing them, and including the right ones in your work.

Without reference managers, it's too easy to lose an important source, or worse, cite it incorrectly.

Below, we're expanding on the top reference management software programs out there, including:

Download our 1-page guide to reference management software solutions now.

1. Mendeley

If you're in a technical or scientific field, Mendeley is an excellent option for you. This reference management software allows users to generate citations and bibliographies in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and LaTeX.

Mendeley is great for collaborative work because it allows you to connect with colleagues and share your papers, notes, and annotations. It can be used on your computer via the web or through your iPhone or iPad, which makes it easy to do your work wherever you go.

Mendeley Review

Mendeley is especially useful for gathering data from PDFs you find in your research process. It automatically extracts metadata and adds it to your library entry. The software also has a built-in PDF viewer for easy reading.

With both free and paid options, Mendeley is one of the best reference managers and is easily accessible across all devices. For easy organization, it gives you the option of categorizing sources as recently read or recently added.

As an additional way to keep all of your notes from sources on a single platform, Mendeley has its own proprietary system for annotating PDFs . This means you don't need to leave the platform to take notes as you go!

Endnote versus Mendeley

If you're like most researchers and authors, you might be considering Endnote versus Mendeley. If so, here are a few things that might sway your decision.

Mendeley offers the bulk of its platform features for free. It gives you the option to sync your references on all of your devices, and it makes reference categorization simple.

EndNote, on the other hand, is a pricier Mendeley alternative. The majority of its features can only be accessed with a paid subscription. However, EndNote is more of a complete tool, with a heavy focus on academic journals. You can search databases, such as PubMed, right inside the tool, and it makes citation formatting a breeze with its Cite While You Write integration.

Both platforms have great features; the choice just depends on how much you're able to spend per month and your specific discipline. 

2. Flowcite

Flowcite helps researchers manage every aspect of academic writing, including research, reference management, collaborative writing, annotating, editing, and publishing. It brings together all of the most requested services for creating a research paper from start to finish.

Besides free core features, such as a knowledge library of almost 25 million sources, a reference manager, LaTeX and rich text editors, and a collaborative PDF viewer, Flowcite offers a number of top-notch services for editing and proofreading (by Scribendi !), similarity checking, and publishing from leading service providers.

Get Academic Proofreading by Scribendi to get your work ready for journal publication.

Flowcite review.

Like other reference management tools, Flowcite has free and paid options. Their free option gives you 3 GB of storage and collaboration features for up to three people. However, at $9 a month, Flowcite's paid subscription isn't too steep.

With their paid option, you can enjoy the following features:

A PDF viewer in which you can collaborate with colleagues on annotations

The ability to access free journal articles within the platform

Up to 30 GB of storage for important references

Collaboration features for up to 10 people

The ability to purchase or rent e-books from Flowcite's online bookstore

A browser extension for saving references on the go

If you're searching for an all-in-one platform to help you not only research your paper but also write, format, and spell-check it, Flowcite is your best bet.

For help finding free peer-reviewed articles online, check out 17 Research Databases for Free Articles .

3. refworks.

RefWorks is an exceptional reference management software program. Although it is not free, many colleges and universities have subscriptions to RefWorks, which means that you may already have it available to you through your school. Score!

RefWorks is great because it allows users to generate and format bibliographies and manuscripts in hundreds of output styles, including some of the most common (e.g., APA , MLA , or Chicago ). It also allows users to manage more than just bibliographical data, which is why it's great for academics and researchers alike.

Refworks Review

RefWorks is an ideal reference manager for students and undergraduates, given that most universities subscribe to it.

With RefWorks, you can create bibliographies in multiple formats, and it has a simple user interface, which can be either a benefit or a disadvantage, depending on the complexity of your research needs.

It also has helpful features, such as reference organization, a built-in PDF reader, and the ability to sync your data to Dropbox so you can access it offline.

Mendeley versus Refworks

Both RefWorks and Mendeley have great options for saving and organizing your references, but choosing between them will depend on your specific needs and situation.

Mendeley is a more user-friendly and stable platform. Many enjoy the tool's robust collaboration features and the ability to view full-text PDFs from within it, making it a top contender in the reference and bibliography software space.

If your university uses RefWorks, they most likely have a subscription that allows you to cite sources, record data from articles or books, and share your database with multiple people at no cost.

Zotero is both free and open source, which means that you don't have to pay for it and that its design is publicly accessible. Zotero is a great choice for a reference manager, especially for students, because it runs as both a web service and an offline service on your personal device (laptop, iPad, cell phone, etc.).

Zotero not only stores and formats your bibliographic information but also allows you to organize, tag, and search this information. It automatically and seamlessly extracts information from books, journal articles, and other online sources, making the process of creating a reference list effortless. 

Zotero Review

Zotero is an open-source reference manager with free and paid options that allow you to save web-based sources. With its browser extension (Connector), you can easily save and organize the sources you find while researching.

As one of the more popular reference managers, Zotero offers up to 300 MB of free file storage and has a clean and minimal interface for reference organization. Its Microsoft Word plug-in allows for easy citation formatting, and its annotation feature gives you the option to add notes to your research from within the platform.

Zotero versus Mendeley

When considering Zotero versus Mendeley, it's easy to see that both reference managers give you the ability to organize your references effectively.

One benefit of Mendeley is that it offers more free cloud storage than other platforms—up to 2 GB. This gives you space for about 700–800 articles. If you plan to collect a lot of references, this might be the better option.

However, Zotero is known to be better for non-journal articles and for having a dedicated user community for support, given that it is an open-source project.

Both platforms allow you to save citations while you browse and have free plug-ins for Word and LibreOffice for creating in-text citations, footnotes, and bibliographies.

EndNote is great if you're collaborating on a research paper. It lets you share sources with up to 14 colleagues anywhere in the world, so it's definitely the top choice for collaborations. 

One of the highlights of this reference manager is that it includes reference types such as interviews, podcasts, conference papers, and press releases. It also lets you add citations to Microsoft PowerPoint slides, which is especially helpful if you're creating a presentation with a group.

EndNote has a huge catalog of format options with over 6,000 reference styles, so regardless of your discipline, you're bound to find one that fits your needs. Although EndNote isn't free, it is certainly high quality.

EndNote Review

EndNote has a reputation for being one of the most complete reference manager software packages in the industry. It's been around a lot longer than most other similar tools and contains robust features for researchers and students in its paid version ($299, one-time purchase).

Within EndNote, you can create rules that let you organize your references and effectively format citations in multiple areas within your text using its Cite While You Write integration.

The latest version of EndNote also makes collaboration easier, offering support for up to 200 users to share references. Additionally, EndNote has a search function that makes it easy to search databases, such as PubMed, without leaving the platform.

Endnote versus Zotero

Depending on the kind of citation manager software you need, both EndNote and Zotero offer helpful features for researchers and students.

While Zotero offers more features for free and has one of the best support communities, EndNote is a pricier but more robust option. However, both tools are effective at helping you to organize and categorize your references.

Both tools allow you to download references easily from a PubMed search, find and remove duplicate citations, and insert citations that are automatically formatted to your style preference into your text.

Additionally, Zotero seems to be a better fit for non-journal articles, while EndNote is often the best choice for STEM disciplines.

6. Citationsy

Citationsy is a great choice because it's so adaptable. You can access it as a page within your browser or download it as a Chrome extension or mobile app, which means that you can access your library from any device with an internet connection.

Like the other reference managers, it automatically extracts citation details so that you don't have to type them in yourself. You can even use its mobile app to cite your books by scanning their barcodes.

Citationsy Review

With its intuitive and easy-to-use user interface, Citationsy is a welcoming reference manager for students and professionals alike.

It boasts 300,000+ users and has features that help you add bibliographic references from your phone and scan physical books to save as future references. Currently, Citationsy supports over 8,000 citation formats, and references can be exported in BibTeX/LaTeX format.

In terms of price, Citationsy has a free 3-day trial with a $4.99/month subscription for students and a $9.99/month subscription for non-students.

The one thing to keep in mind with Citationsy is that some of its features are more limited in comparison with EndNote and Mendeley, so be sure it has exactly what you're looking for!

Do you see the common trend with these reference management software programs? They make creating a bibliography easy! Be sure to take advantage of the features offered by these programs to make your research just a little bit easier.

If you would rather have an expert editor format your references correctly according to any style guide, check out Scribendi's fast, affordable, and professional academic proofreading services .

1-Page Guide to Reference Management Software

Download now, what is a reference manager.

A reference manager, also called a citation manager, is a tool that makes it easy to collect and organize references during the research process. It allows you to store references from your browser so you do not overlook any references you've used. Many reference managers have plug-ins that make it easy to cite sources within your paper, usually with a single click. 

Which Is the Best Citation Manager?

The best citation manager will depend on your needs as a student, researcher, or author. You'll need to ask: Do I want a paid or a free option? How much storage do I need?

If you're looking for free options with the flexibility to be used from anywhere, try experimenting with EndNote Basic, Zotero, or Mendeley. However, if your university pays for your citation manager, RefWorks might be a better fit.

In terms of storage, Mendeley wins the race for large free storage options, but you may want to experiment with a few different tools to see what works for you.

How Long Does a Mendeley Data Review Take?

Each shared dataset in Mendeley Data can take 1–2 business days to approve from the time of submission to be sure it complies with Mendeley's dataset requirements. You should receive an email informing you whether your dataset has been accepted.

To ensure dataset acceptance, double-check that your datasets are scientific in nature, have not already been published, and do not contain sensitive or copyrighted content.

About the Author

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• University of Michigan Library
• Research Guides

Manage Citations with Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote

• Undergraduates
• Mendeley Desktop
• Mendeley Web
• Mendeley Mobile
• Tips and Tricks
• Switching Citation Managers

Contact Information

What is citation management software?

Citation management software helps you:

• organize references, PDFs, and images
• take notes on references and PDFs
• format bibliographies and in-text citations in hundreds of citations styles
• share references and collaborate on projects with colleagues

This guide only covers citation software supported by the library: Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote. When deciding which one to use consider your research habits, word processing, and collaboration/sharing needs. These programs can work with each other and some people may need to use more than one throughout their academic career.

• Comparison of Citation Management Applications (Word)
• Comparison of Citation Management Applications (PDF)

Which citation management software should I use?

• Free to download from https://www.zotero.org/
• Install standalone program locally; install web connector and MS Word plugin; create free online account
• Provides syncing of local database with online account
• Easy to use
• Web browser plugin provides one-click capture of citations to articles, books, web pages, etc
• Best choice for capturing web-based and other non-standard sources (i.e., non-journal or book)
• Well supported
• Excellent integration with MS Word and LibreOffice
• Also features integration with Google Docs 
• Also has a related tool, ZoteroBib, available, a simple easy to use web site for generating properly styled citations with no additional software, similar to web sites like EasyBib or Citation Machine.   Available at https://zbib.org/
• Provides support for over 9000 bibliographic styles
• Provides free online storage and syncing up to 300Mb; more available for a fee
• Collaboration:  create an unlimited number of both private and public online groups to share citations and PDFs; you can access and manage those groups both online and in the standalone desktop version
• Available in versions for Mac, Windows, and Linux

EndNote 

• Not free, unless your unit or school provides you with a license (for example, LS&A does)
• EndNote X9 for both Mac and Windows available for purchase at the Computer Showcase (http://computershowcase.umich.edu/);  $249 for faculty and staff, $125 for students
• Standalone program installed locally;  can also create and sync with free online account (EndNote Basic) 
• The most powerful and full-featured citation manager;  also the most complex to learn and use
• The most powerful and flexible integration with MS Word
• Has the most features for working with very long documents (e.g., books, dissertations, etc)
• Ability to directly import PDF files and annotate them
• Provides support for over 7000 bibliographic styles
• Provides unlimited online storage for users of the desktop software
• Collaboration:  Share your library with up to 100 other EndNote Desktop users;  can also share private groups on EndNote Basic
• Available in versions for Mac and Windows
• Free to download from https://www.mendeley.com
• Provides support for over 1000 bibliographic styles
• Support from the publisher has been inconsistent
• Excellent integration with MS Word
• Has the best tools for direct import of PDF files and has the ability to annotate PDF files directly
• Includes access to a large network or “social media” of other Mendeley users, including the ability to search for and share citations collectively
• The free, non-premium Mendeley account provides up to 2Gb of online storage and up to 5 private groups of up to 25 members

Here are some other sites that compare citation manager features:

Citation Management Options (University of Michigan)

PIM Citation Tool Comparison Chart (University of Minnesota)

Comparison of reference management software (Wikipedia, very detailed and many programs)

You may also get personal assistance in choosing a new citation manager from  ScholarSpace  staff, either via  email  or by an  in-person consultation .

Where to acquire software:

If you want information about where to find and how to install these  programs:   For Zotero, go to the Zotero guide  linked to on the sidebar under the Zotero link For Mendeley, you can download and install it by following the link  here   To create a free EndNote Basic account, go  here   The full version of EndNote that you would install on your computer is not free software.  You can purchase it from the Computer Showcase in either Shapiro or the Duderstadt Center;  more info  here , or see these pages for purchase info:

EndNote Mac Student

EndNote Mac Faculty/Staff

EndNote Windows Student

EndNote Windows Faculty/Staff  

You may also wish to check to see if your school or department will provide you with an EndNote license.  Some units on campus provide software for their affiliates.  For example, LS&A provides EndNote licenses for LS&A faculty and students;  move information on that is  here .

Libraries | Research Guides

How to choose: endnote, mendeley, or zotero.

• Comparison Table
• Gathering Citations
• Switching Among Tools
• Writing Your Paper

Getting Started

This guide will assist you in choosing the citation manager that best fits your needs.  You cannot go wrong with choosing any of the tools, but it helps if you take a few things into consideration before starting.  Remember that switching between the tools is possible, but it does become less convenient the longer you use a tool and the more file attachments you collect.

All three programs can:

• store references in one place 
• export citations directly from databases 
• automatically format bibliographies and citations in MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style, or thousands of other styles 
• keep reading notes linked to sources 
• insert citations directly into Word
• attach files to your references and more!

Reasons to Choose  EndNote

Zotero and Mendeley are relatively young tools when compared to EndNote. EndNote X9 offers some advanced features that might be necessary for your discipline and work flow, including hundreds of built-in citation styles. For Northwestern students, faculty, and staff, EndNote 20 can be downloaded through  NUIT  with a valid NetID.

Reasons to Choose  Mendeley

If your research content is primarily contained in PDF files, Mendeley has an integrated PDF viewer and can create citation records by using the browser extension. Mendeley has the strongest  website  and community platform.

Reasons to Choose Zotero

If your research content is diverse, Zotero is the easiest method to gather citation records for non-PDF content.  Zotero's single-click capture works with more databases, catalogs, and websites than Mendeley's browser extension. You can also enable the retrieval of PDF metadata, which allows you to create citation records just from dragging a PDF into Zotero. Zotero is open source and cannot be acquired by a company.

Questions? Contact the library's citation management support .

This guide is based on a similar guide by Daria Carson-Dussan, Melissa Vetter, and Cheryl Holland at WUSTL.

Citation Management Workshops

Upcoming citation management workshops.

We offer workshops on EndNote and Zotero every quarter.

We offer Zotero workshops every quarter. Here's what's coming up for Spring 2024:

Zotero Workshops

Zotero In person : Tuesday, April 16, 2024 1:00-1:45pm, Mudd Library, 2124 Register for the in person Zotero workshop

Zotero Online : Tuesday, April 30, 2024 2:00-2:45 pm, Zoom Register for the online Zotero workshop

EndNote Workshops

EndNote In person : Thursday, April 11, 2024 1:00-1:45pm, Mudd 2124 Register for the in person EndNote workshop

EndNote Online : Wednesday, April 24, 2024 3:00-3:45 pm, Zoom Register for the online EndNote workshop

Drop-in assistance for EndNote and Zotero:

Thursday, May 16, 2024 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM, University Library Main Corridor No registration needed, stop by anytime during the hour.

1:1 Assistance

For 1:1 assistance with EndNote or Zotero, contact the Libraries' EndNote and Zotero Support team.

To see other events at the library, visit  libraries.nu/events

• Next: Comparison Table >>
• Last Updated: Apr 5, 2024 2:55 PM
• URL: https://libguides.northwestern.edu/howtochoose

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• TECHNOLOGY FEATURE
• 01 September 2020

Streamline your writing — and collaborations — with these reference managers

• Jeffrey M. Perkel

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Illustration by The Project Twins

For such utilitarian tools, reference management software can inspire strong reactions. Physician Ben Goldacre, for instance, has tweeted at least five times about Paperpile, a subscription-based reference manager that integrates tightly with Google Docs, calling it “amazing”, “fantastic, best ever”, and “unbeLIEVably good”. Goldacre, who is also director of the DataLab at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK, explains: “Paperpile is the first time I’ve used a reference manager where it didn’t make me want to punch myself in the face on a regular basis out of sheer rage. It’s just glorious and perfect.”

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02491-2

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• Supplementary table - features of reference managers

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Find the best product instantly, what is the best reference manager, 10 options considered.

My Rec ommendation for Zotero

My recommendation for zotero.

Cross-platform

No official app for Android

Open source

Only one Library

Stable with very large libraries

Storage limit (300Mb)

Import from/export to many formats

Automatic reference extraction from websites

Microsoft word integration, collaboration tools, snapshot of web page for offline view, integrates with word, libreoffice, lyx, and google docs, tag suggestios from existing list; tag pane to find related items, cloud sync allows web access and sync across devices, collect references effortlessly from the web, libre office integration, google-docs integration, multiple libraries for better management, my rec ommendation for citavi, my recommendation for citavi.

Windows Only

Proprietary

Free one limited to 100 references per project

No online library or dashboard

My rec ommendation for paperpile, my recommendation for paperpile.

Web interface that is synced in the cloud with Google Drive

Only works with Chrome for Desktop

Papers can be added directly from the browser, makes collaborative writing easy as it's built around google docs, my rec ommendation for jabref, my recommendation for jabref, requires java, organize articles based on keywords, tags, search terms or manual assignments, browser extension, hierarchical collections, regular expressions, find unlinked files, native bibtex and biblatex support, cross platform, keep track of what you read: ranking, priority, printed, quality-assured, word and libreoffice/openoffice upport, create entry from xmp metadata, readcube papers, my rec ommendation for readcube papers, my recommendation for readcube papers, best ui & workflow.

Fast and accurate lookup of metadata

Very easy to use

My rec ommendation for qiqqa, my recommendation for qiqqa, open source, brainstorm option, ocr support, f1000workspace, my rec ommendation for f1000workspace, my recommendation for f1000workspace, annotations on pdf and web pages, has been transformed under a new bossiness model with a new name which requires registration to use the product, import from identifiers (doi, pmid, pmcid, isbn, url), google docs add-on, ios/android mobile apps, chrome extension, import from pdf, mendeley, zotero, endnote, papers, readcube, reference manager, refworks, word plugin, my rec ommendation for endnote, my recommendation for endnote, industry leader, no mobile app, poor web interface, my rec ommendation for mendeley, my recommendation for mendeley, proprietary software, acquired by elsevier, web interface, native applications and mobile apps are available.

Removed mobile apps

Very good pdf management capability.

Not very good web import capability

Citation plugin for word and libreoffice.

Inconsistencies in the edition of references

Papers can be added directly from the browser (via extension), doesn't work on all platforms, moderately high cloud space.

Proprietary and non-standard PDF annotation

Ability to edit, import, and export references in multiple formats, pdf viewer performs poorly on macos, good video tutorials, annotations from external pdf viewers can't be imported anymore (macos), great web interface, good sharing and community support, my rec ommendation for citato, my recommendation for citato.

Easy to use

Don't see your favorite option add it., my rec ommendation for citationsy, my recommendation for citationsy.

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Good Reference Management Tools for Manuscripts and Theses

All scientists know that to get published, they must have novel data. Therefore, when a researcher designs experiments and writes manuscripts, information and use of previous studies are fundamental. Indeed, a scientist must know what is known before designing an experiment. To help manage all of the research articles and studies that scientists sift through daily, there are citation managers that help organize papers . Among the various citation management tools such as Mendeley, Zotero, EndNote, and RefWorks, which citation tool is best suited for you?

Originally, reference managers helped researchers correctly format their citations . These tools have come a long way since then. However, with all the new options and features, deciding which citation tool works best requires background work and awareness. Among the various options available to the scientist, few common citation managers are RefWorks, Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote.

EndNote : A tool for managing and publishing bibliographies, citations, and references.

Mendeley : A tool for reference management and for collaborating and sharing your work.

Zotero : A tool for managing and organize different resources and for sharing research.

RefWorks : A tool for managing and organizing bibliographies.

Features of the Top Citation Management Tools

The basic features of the citation management tools are often similar; however, they offer distinct services.

How to Choose

With all of these features and options, a scientist needs to consider which features are most important to him/her as a researcher. A good first step is to know what is already in use in your lab. While a tool may not be your favorite, using a shared citation manager will facilitate collaboration with your colleagues.

Do you like to work on multiple computer systems or without the internet? Consider using Zotero, Mendeley, or Endnote. Do you want to archive web pages? Consider using Zotero. Do you want to work on a group project and network or share? Consider using Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote. Each citation manager comes with its advantages. EndNote can not only house a large number of citations but also can be customized to a great extent. Zotero is effective in housing a variety of formats and downloading resources from different databases. Mendeley, on the other hand, has the capability to manage PDFs effectively and helps in sharing documents or citations within your network.

As a scientist, you may have typed in your research topic into PubMed. A search for “cardiac stem cell” yielded 18,522 results in May 2017. While many of those articles can be filtered out, there are likely dozens, if not hundreds, of articles that you want to read as part of your research. Using a citation management tool, such as RefWorks, Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote, will help you organize your citations. It will facilitate your collaborative projects by sharing findings. It can help focus your research based upon trends spotted through organized citation data. You can also choose multiple citation platforms based on your requirements. Ultimately, you can conduct your research more efficiently and effectively by choosing the reference management tool that saves time, organizes your resources, helps in collaboration and builds and formats your citations.

Thanks for nice comparison. I use Mendeley for reference management and MS Word for making document.

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• Getting Started
• Finding Resources
• Tools for Writers
• Proper Citing & Attribution

Citation Management Basics

Citation manager tips & tricks, 10 tips for avoiding accidental plagiarism, endnote basics and resources, full text configuration, refworks basics and resources, mendeley basics and resources, zotero basics and resources.

• iThenticate

Bibliographic management software makes it easy to collect and organize references to any type of information, from journal articles to multimedia files. The software also allows students and researchers to insert their citations into papers and format them for publication painlessly.

These suggestions can be applied to most citation management programs.

• Keep one big database for all of your projects. It will make references easier to find later on.   
• Use Groups or Folders to organize you references.
• Add references to your database as soon as you come across them.  This is easy to do with web-based citation managers.  EndNote users can create free EndNote Web accounts, log on  and add references from any computer with Internet access.  Later, synchronize references between EndNote Web and EndNote desktop.
• Do not limit your database to journal articles only .  Include many material types: websites, meeting abstracts, patents, theses, unpublished works, correspondence, tables and charts, etc.  Might have to type these in by hand (if no Direct Export available), but it will be well worth the effort.)
• Link full-text PDFs on your hard drive to the corresponding references in your database.  Some programs will let you import PDFs directly in a batch or one by one.
• Annotate PDFs as a reminder of sections you plan on quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing.
• Every citation manager has a Notes field, Research Notes field or several User Defined fields. Copy text from sources you plan to use into these fields.  This will be a good reminder of what you are quoting.
• As you write, use your citation manager's "insert citation" tool (e.g. Cite-While-You-Write or Write-N-Cite ). Keep the citations unformatted or use astyle that includes authors and dates.  When you are finished you can change to your department or publisher's style.
• Us MS Word's Track Changes and Notes functions to help keep track of article's you are citing.
• Make sure your references are correct!

Example of Custom Fields for quotes and paraphrasing in EndNote

Highlighting and annotating a PDF.

• Keep all of your references in one Library .  It will be easier to find them when you need them.
• Add references as soon as you come across them.  Don't wait until you are starting to write.
• Check for duplicates early & often.  2.5. Update your references.  Check to see if epubs or in-process citations have been published.
• Import publisher-supplied PDFs directly into your Library.
• Use Find Full Text or Attach Files to get PDFs for references already in your Library.  
• Annotate PDFs .  Many programs (including EN, Preview for Macs and Adobe Acrobat Pro) will let you highlight text and add notes.  6.5. Annotate references in you Library, using the Notes, Research Notes, or User-Defined fields.
• Organize with Groups.   References can belong to more than one Group.  It might be helpful to create a separate Group for each section of your manuscript. EndNote creates a temporary, system-generated Group of references being added to a document.  These references can be copied into a regular Group.
• Insert citations as you write.   Make it easier to see who you are citing by using an Author/Date style or unformatted citatations while you write. Change to department- or journal-specified style when you are finished writing.
• Use your word processor's Comments feature as reminders of passages that must be cited.
• Make sure the references you cite are correct!

EndNote is available from the D. Samuel Gottesman Library.

The EndNote Guide will help you

• Add references to EndNote from Ovid, PubMed, PsycNET, SciFinder, Web of Science, and Google Scholar .
• Incorporate full-text PDFs into your Library .
• Create formatted bibliographies using Cite While You Write .
• Integrate EndNote and EndNote Web .
• Learn about alternatives to EndNote .

EndNote Resources

• EndNote Video Tutorials -- Learn how to use EndNote's features from this collection of training videos.
• EndNote Support and Services --  Call EndNote Technical Support at 1.800.336.4474.

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RefWorks allows students and researchers to insert their citations into papers and format them for publication painlessly. Access to RefWorks is provided by the D. Samuel Gottesman Library.

The RefWorks Guide will help you

• Add references from Ovid, PubMed, PsycNET, SciFinder, Web of Science and Google Scholar .
• Incorporate full-text PDFs .
• Create formatted bibliographies using Write-N-Cite .

If you experience problems with your RefWorks account, contact

• The Reference department at 1.718.430.3104 or [email protected]
• RefWorks technical support at 1.775.327.4105 or [email protected]
• RefWorks Help Online help from RefWorks.
• Learn to use RefWorks in 20 Minutes Step by step guide to RefWorks.

Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research, collaborate with others online, and discover the latest research in your field. Mendeley is a great organization tool for those who have accumulated a large number of PDF files during the research process.

The Mendeley guide will help you

• Add references and PDFs to your Mendeley library
• Create formatted bibliographies
• Share your work and resources with other users

Zotero is a free bibliographic management tool that allows you to store and organize your references. You can add references from library databases, add books with websites like Amazon.com and WorldCat.org, and manually add any references, such as websites.

The Zotero guide will help you

• Add references to your Zotero library
• Add pdf's to your Zotero library
• Use Groups to collaborate
• Zotero Quick Start Guide
• Video Tutorials
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• Last Updated: Aug 13, 2024 5:57 PM
• URL: https://library.einsteinmed.edu/thesis

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Citation Management Tools

• Other Citation Tools

General Inquiries

Which tool to use?

Image: https://admissionblog.usc.edu

• Comparison of citation tools This handout provides more features to consider when comparing citation tools. If you are still undecided on which one to pick, check it out!

Bibliographic citation managers   (e.g. EndNote Web, Zotero, etc.) help researchers keep track of their references for research papers, theses, dissertations, journal articles, publication lists, course reserve lists, or any other writing needs. The software also facilitates the downloading of citations directly from the Web, online databases, and online library catalogs. Using bibliographic citation managers helps researchers create bibliographies or lists of references and easily format them in a wide variety of styles.

As you write academic papers, you will need to use citations in order to give credit to other works you have used to support your argument, show background research, and provide a context to your studies.  Higher-level academic papers require you to use a lot of citations, and you can use citation management tools to make keeping track of your sources easier. 

A citation management tool is an online tool that allows you to store, organize, and export citations according to whatever style you need.  The University of Maryland subscribes to many tools that can make organizing your sources easier. 

Not Sure Which Citation Management Tool to Use?

Comparing Citation Managers

The following videos provide some tips on how to investigate and decide on the best bibliographic software for your needs. The speakers touch on criteria such as collaboration, system compatibility, free vs. cost and functionality.

This Citation Manager Comparison guide   provides a quick reference to the following most used citation managers and can help you pick the tool that is most suited to your needs. Review the handout on the left for more features to compare!

• Next: EndNote >>
• Last Updated: Jul 7, 2024 3:12 PM
• URL: https://lib.guides.umd.edu/citationtools

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This sub is for discussions amongst college & university faculty. Whether you are an adjunct, a lecturer, a grad TA or tenured stream if you teach students at the college level, this space is for you! While we welcome students and non-academics lurking and learning, posts and comments are not allowed. If you're new here, please familiarize yourself with the sub rules and follow them. If you're ever unsure, feel free to reach out to the moderators for clarification.

What's the best citation manager software?

I'm old school and don't use a citation manager. Some have told me to try Zotero. What do y'all like? Why do you like it?

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