Reference Management Software/ Tools
Reference management programs (also known as citation managers or bibliographic
management software) allows you to search databases (eg Pubmed etc) and cite sources in
MS Word. They provide many useful features that can help you with your research such as:
storing and organising your references
generating citations and bibliographies in the style you prefer; and,
easily converting referencing styles to suit publication requirements.
Reference management software allows researchers to link to and correctly cite referenced
works in their papers. Also known as citation management tools, the software can create
proper citations in a desired style (e.g. MLA, APA, etc.). Additionally, reference
management software may automate building bibliographies, or footnotes, or reference
sections in research papers. Reference management software may organize personal research
libraries, or manage access to an outside reference source (e.g. web magazines, literature
databases).
Common features of Reference Management Softwares
Store references in a searchable database
Attach PDFs and other files
Auto-generate citations and bibliographies/ reference lists in your document in your
chosen style
Share collections of references with others
Sync your references across multiple devices
Limitations of Referencing Tools
A reference management program:
may not create a perfect bibliography or reference list according to your preferred
style (or your supervisor’s or tutor’s).
o You still need to be familiar with the referencing style to be used.
o Refer to Style Manuals.
o In some programs it is possible to adjust or edit output styles.
will not correct typos or errors or omissions from references manually entered or
downloaded from databases.
o You will always need to proof-read references for accuracy: punctuation,
capitalisation, spelling.
may not always know what reference type you are downloading.
o For example they cannot always distinguish a conference proceeding from a
book.
o Also some information may be inserted in the wrong format requiring editing.
Reference Management Tools
Followings are the top used Reference Management software that can be used freely or on
payment basis from the large number of available reference managers.
EndNote
EndNote is a commercial reference management software package produced by Thomson
Reuters. Endnote is one of the most popular reference managers and has been around for
more than 20 years. It allows the collection of references from online resources and PDFs.
References from bibliographic databases can be imported into EndNote libraries. full-text can
be imported too. EndNote provides plugins for Microsoft Word and OpenOffice. References
can be exported to BibTeX. While EndNote does not include any collaborative features,
EndNote Web provides the functionality for collaboration with other users. Users can give
group members read/write access to their references and import references from other
people’s libraries. Endnote also integrates with other bibliographic tools produced by
Thomson Reuters, including Web of Science and ResearcherID.
Mendeley
Mendeley is a reference manager developed by a London-based startup. Its strength lies in its
networking and collaborative features, and also in providing facilities for easily managing
PDF files. It offers both a desktop and a web version with synchronized bibliographic
information, allowing access from several computers and collaboration with other users. PDF
files can be imported into Mendeley desktop and metadata such as authors, title, and journal
are automatically extracted. It is possible to do a full-text search, highlight text in PDFs, and
add sticky notes. The web version recommends papers to users based on their profiles and the
content in their libraries. Users can create both private and public groups and share papers
and annotations. Mendeley is free to use, but costs a monthly fee if the number of documents
in Mendeley web or the number of private groups exceeds a limit.
Zotero
Zotero is a popular open source reference manager, originally developed as a plugin for the
Firefox browser. The newer Zotero Standalone offers the same functionality but runs as a
separate program and works with Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. Zotero also includes a hosted
version in order to synchronize references across devices and share them in private or public
groups.
Zotero allows users to collect and to organize a variety of web sources such as citations, full-
texts, web pages, images and audio files directly in the browser. Citations from Zotero can be
integrated into Microsoft Word and OpenOffice.
RefWorks
RefWorks is a commercial web-based reference manager by ProQuest. The Write N Cite
utility enables the integration of references into Microsoft Word where in-text citations and
reference lists can be formatted into various styles. RefWorks makes it easy to collaborate
with others as all references are stored in the web-based version. The Write N Cite utility can
also work offline, but RefWorks is not the right tool for researchers with intermittent or poor
internet connectivity.
Papers
Papers is a commercial reference management software, now part of Springer
Science+Business media. Initially Papers was only available for Mac, but now there are also
versions for iPad and PC. Its main strength is its excellent handling of PDF documents
(including metadata extraction) and its polished user interface, whereas the collaborative
features are less developed than in some of the other products. Papers uses the Citation Style
Language and provides a word processor plugin.
JabRef
JabRef is an open source bibliography reference manager popular with LaTeX users. It runs
on Java and is thus compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac. The native file format is
BibTeX which is the standard LaTeX bibliography format. The strength of JabRef is that
references can be formatted directly in LaTeX, thus providing access and control over a wide
range of citation styles. JabRef provides direct search and downloads from PubMed and
IEEEXplore. There are plugins for word processing programs and also other Java based
plugins, which expand the general functionality.
CiteULike
CiteULike is a free online reference manager and social bookmarking tool. References are
primarily entered via a bookmarklet that captures bibliographic content in web pages. New
entries are public by default and are added to the common library, but entries can be also
made private. Users can assign tags to entries which make it easier to organize and search
through content. References can be exported in BibTeX and RIS formats. The social
networking features are the strength of CiteULike. Users can create profiles, connect with
other researchers, and create and join groups where they can collaborate on library content.
Paperpile
Paperpile is a popular tool but at a monthly cost. It is a reference management solution that
has got you covered: more than 30 reference types and 86 subtypes provide all the relevant
meta-data fields to generate accurate citations of all your material. It allows
Sign-in securely with Google
Collect your references with the Chrome extension
Organize your PDFs in Google Drive
Cite your references in Google Docs
