A citation manager, also called a reference manager, is a software program that allows you to save, organize, and share citations for any type of project you may be working on. You can add many different types of citations to a citation manager - books, articles, PDFs, videos, interviews, and more! Most citation managers offer a browser plug in that allows for seamless integration with your searching, now you can add citations to a list without leaving the internet. Once you have collected all of your references you can organize your library by creating tags, folders, and lists. Last, but not least - most citation managers will connect to whatever writing software you work with (Word, GoogleDocs, Etc.) and can populate in-text citations automatically!
Using reference management software is highly recommended any time you are conducting deep or ongoing library research. You should consider using reference management software if you are beginning a capstone project or working on a graduate thesis. You may also wish to keep track of resources you find throughout your career for later use -- many research professionals maintain detailed documentation of the works they've previously read or referenced for later use.
For a quick comparison of the two options listed below, take a look at this guide from York University Libraries.
MendeleyMendeley 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.
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ZoteroZotero is a free, open-source research tool that helps you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. Here are some useful links for information on using Zotero: |
Mendeley and Zotero provide similar services, allowing you to track and format citations for all your research.
Another option, TurnItIn Draft Coach, could help you double-check the formatting of your citations (in APA, MLA, or Chicago Turabian style) as well as ensuring that all of your citations and references match.
To use Draft Coach, access Microsoft Word online through https://www.office.com/ . Open a Word document with citations. You should see TurnItIn as a menu item on top of the page. Click TurnItIn, then Draft Coach, and Draft Coach will appear on the right side of the screen.