Software applications that help gather, organize, and maintain references for your research.
Commonly used managers include EndNote, Mendeley, RefWorks, and Zotero.
What Can Reference and Citation Management Tools Do?
Gather resources automatically from online databases such as library catalogs.
Insert and format citations in your manuscript in a variety of styles, including Chicago, Turabian, and MLA.
Generate bibliographies.
Create a personal research database that can contain not only references but pdfs, images, audio files, and other files.
Provide access to your references in the cloud.
Share your references with others.
When and Why Should I Start Using One of These?
Yesterday – The sooner you begin using one the the citation management programs, the sooner you will begin building your personal database of resources. This will be of great help for your coursework, preparing for qualifying exams, writing lectures, and, yes, for writing your dissertation.
Convenience – Keep all of your references in one place and never lose that scrap piece of paper with the most important reference for your dissertation. Plus, you can do all of the things listed above.
Organization – Keeping the citation and the pdf of the article together, your notes about the book or article, call numbers, etc. will save you time when it comes to looking for something. No more digging through boxes for that article you copied 3 years ago when you use search features these tools have.
Which One is Right for Me – Some Key Points and Features
