Bibliographic citation managers help researchers keep track of their references for research papers, theses, dissertations, journal articles, publication lists, and any other research and writing needs.  The software also facilitates the downloading of citations directly from the Web, online databases, and online library catalogs.  Using bibliographic citation managers helps researchers create bibliographies or lists of references and easily format them in a wide variety of styles. 

Citation software (also called "bibliographic software," "citation managers," or "reference managers" helps you to:

• import citations from your favorite databases and websites
• build and organize bibliographies
• format citations for papers
• take notes on articles and save them in your collection of citations
• save and organize PDFs, screenshots, graphs, images, and other files for your research

Which citation software program is right for you?

In this guide, we introduce you to Endnote Web, Zotero, and Mendeley.  We suggest that you become familiar with each, so you can decide which is the best "fit" for you.  Variables include the computing platform where you will house your work, your own cognitive/learning style, and which system your colleagues/peers/faculty are using. 

Any idea or quote from other people or resources that you use in writing your paper needs to be cited.  Citations give credit to those people/resources and provide your reader with the information needed to identify your sources.

A citation of a book generally includes author(s), title, publisher and date. A citation of an article generally includes author(s), article title, journal title, volume, pages, and date. Citations for web documents and articles from databases also include a URL and may need the date the information was accessed.

There are many different formats used in writing papers. The American Psychological Association (APA), and Modern Language Association (MLA), University of Chicago (Chicago) and the  American Sociological Association (ASA)  are some of the most popular. Always check with your professor to know which format or style should be used.