Strategies
Citation Tools
Citation tools include citation managers that allow you to create and organize a personal research library, share with other researchers, cite resources, generate bibliographies, and more.[1]
Examples of citation managers include:
- Zotero: a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension or stand alone system, that helps you collect, manage, cite, and share your research sources. (More details and a guide to using Zotero available here)
- Mendeley: a free reference manager and academic social network that allows you to make your own fully-searchable library in seconds, cite as you write, and read and annotate your PDFs on any device. (More details and a guide to using Mendeley available here)
- EndNote: a bibliographic management program that allows users to organize their references, images and PDFs, and create bibliographies and figure lists. Use of EndNote requires the purchase of a license. A free, limited online version is available called EndNote Basic. (More details and a guide to using EndNote available here)
Choosing between Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote
These popular citation managers all provide the same basic features and functionality with a few exceptions and some features specific to particular tools. Use the chart below to narrow down your choices, the rest is personal preference. Talk to people in your department – some disciplines tend to use one tool more than others.
| Criteria | Zotero | Mendeley | EndNote | EndNote Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web based? | Can sync with online account; connectors for Firefox, Chrome and Safari and Opera available | Not primarily, but can sync with an online account which is editable | Yes, with EndNote basic account | Yes |
| Must be online? | No | No | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free for basic account, some cost for more online storage space | Free for basic account, some cost for more online storage space | $$, Student discount through computer store | Free |
| Word-processor compatibility | MS Word, Open Office, Google Docs | MS Word, Open Office, LaTex | MS Office, Open Office, iWork Pages | MS Word |
| Import from databases | Yes | Yes | Direct export from specific databases | Yes |
| Import citation info from web pages | Yes, also archives the page and you can add annotations | Yes, with a bookmark for a limited number of sites (mostly publishers or databases) | Yes, with Web Capture tool and EndNote basic account | Yes, with Web Capture tool |
| Storage capacity | Unlimited local storage and data syncing; 100MB free Zotero file syncing (larger syncing plans available for purchase); or can use WebDav | Unlimited local storage and data syncing; 1GB personal and 100MB shared online space (larger online storage plans available for purchase) | Unlimited local storage | Limited to 50,000 citations and 2 GB of attachment storage |
| Attach associated files (PDFs, etc.) | Yes, with option to attach automatically | Yes, and can highlight and annotate PDFs | Yes, and can highlight and annotate PDFs | Yes |
| Search full text of PDFs | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Create group or shared libraries | Yes | Yes, free for up to 3 group members (larger group plans available for purchase) | Yes, with EndNote basic account | Yes |
| Create bibliography with different styles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic citation extraction from PDFs | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Other features | Sync library with multiple computers Use tags to organize/search |
Sync library with multiple computers Sync with Zotero library |
Insert figures and charts using word processor integration |