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Research Strategies

Citation Managers: What are They and Why Use Them?

Citation Managers are bibliographic management programs that will help you keep track of articles and books as you find them, organize your references and create bibliographies in 100s of citation styles (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.)

They will also allow you to:

  • Import citations as you research from databases and catalogs
  • Save and organize citations
  • Attach PDFs of articles, when available
  • Embed citations (footnotes or in-text) into your word processing documents
  • Collaborate with others online
  • Discover the latest research

Below are some popular citation managers and their differences. Remember to always check with your professor if you are not sure.

Criteria Zotero Mendeley EndNote and EndNote Web
Website

http://www.zotero.org/

There is also Zoterobib, which allows you to create an instant bibliography from your browser on any devices.

 https://www.mendeley.com/

http://endnote.com/

FREE EndNote Web: https://www.myendnoteweb.com/
Web based? Yes, works with Firefox browser and can sync with online account; connectors for Chrome and Safari available Yes EndNote is a standalone app but it can transfer library to EndNote Web.
Operating System Windows, Mac, Linux Windows, Mac Windows or MAC
Cost Free for basic account and the standalone app. Some cost for more online storage space Free for basic account, with paid options for additional storage and features Free for EndNote Web but $$ for the standalone app.
Important citation styles available/not available Available: MLA, APA, Chicago, ACS, AMA, IEEE, and thousands more via CSL editor
Not Available: No major styles missing		 Available: APA, IEEE, Chicago
Not Available: MLA, ACS (ACS may require premium features)		 Available: APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE
Not Available: ACS (requires full EndNote)
Import from databases Yes Yes Direct export from specific databases
Import citation info from web pages Yes, also archives the page and you can add annotations Yes, via a web importer tool
only with EndNote Web bookmarklet
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

adapted from American University Library, Penn State University Libraries, and official websites of these tools

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