Guides: Nursing Ed.D Library Guide: Choosing Citation Tools

What is a citation management tool?

Citation Management Tools are services or software that allow you to collect, organize, and use/format citations for academic writing and publishing. It used to be that your only options were expensive software that only ran on one computer, but these days there are many choices, most of which integrate with your word processor, have online components so you have access to your citations from any computer, and allow you to input citations directly from databases and websites. Some are even free!

This page will help you choose a tool to start with. There is no "best" tool. Different tools are better at different tasks and in different situations. Below are some suggestions based on different options. Find the options that seem the most important to you and review the suggestions before choosing a tool. Don't worry if you don't like your first choice. It's quite easy to move citations from one tool to another.

We recommend 3 tools for graduate work:

Endnote Web - a fee based tool related to the Endnote software, paid for by library subscriptions. Except for the MS Word plugin and browser toolbars, Endnote Web works entirely online, so there are minimal installation requirements.
Mendeley - a free tool with a social networking component and downloadable software.
Zotero - a free tool that works best with the Firefox browser. There is also a "standalone" downloadable version.

Which tool should I try?

I Need to:	Use:	Why:
…work from multiple computers or locations.	Zotero Mendeley EndNote Basic Refworks	Zotero saves your citation library to your local computer, but syncs with multiple computers so you can work from home, work, or school. Mendeley is a program that lives on your local computer, but syncs with a web account. EndNote Basic and RefWorks are entirely web-based and can be accessed from any computer with internet access.
…work without an Internet connection.	Zotero Mendeley	Zotero (Standalone) and Mendeley store your citation libraries locally on your computer. RefWorks allows you to create a folder of citations to use offline and manually insert into your paper, but you must be online to create the bibliography.
…archive web pages and import citations from sites such as Amazon and ArtSTOR.	Zotero Refworks	Zotero allows you to easily save snapshots of web pages and annotate them within your citation library. It is a great tool for scraping citation information from web-based publications and some commercial and social networking sites. RefWorks has a plug-in (RefGrabIt) that allows you to obtain citation information from some websites.
…work on a group project or share my citations with others.	Zotero Mendeley EndNote Basic Refworks	Zotero allows you to share your citations through shared folders -- you can give individuals or groups permissions to add and edit the citations in the shared folder. Mendeley allows you to share citations and documents with a group of up to 2 other users, or create a public reading list that is open to all. EndNote Basic allows you to create and share groups with other users

Features of each tool:

Criteria	Zotero	Mendeley			EndNote Basic		RefWorks
Web based?	Yes, works with Firefox browser and can sync with online account; connectors for Chrome and Safari available	Not primarily, but can sync with an online account which is editable			Yes		Yes
Must be online?	No (best with Standalone version)	No			Yes (Word plugin will see only already used citations if offline)		For most features yes; RefWorks allows you to create a folder of citations to use offline and manually insert into your paper, but you must be online to create the bibliography.
Cost	Free for basic account, some cost for more online storage space	Free for basic account, some cost for more online storage space			Free with upgraded options for campus logins or desktop software purchase		Free 30 day trial; $100/year for individual subscription
Word-processor compatibility	MS Word, Open Office, Google Docs	MS Word, Open Office, LaTex			MS Word		MS Word
Import from databases	Yes: most databases via browser plugin; file import. Best with library databases, Google Scholar, library catalogs.	Yes: Direct Export from ScienceDirect; some databases with browser bookmarklet; file import. Best with ScienceDirect/Elseveier.			Yes: Direct Export from EBSCO; from other databases with browser plugin; file import. Best with EBSCO.		Yes: Direct Export from EBSCO, Gale, Proquest & ScienceDirect; file import. Best with library databases.
Import citation info from web pages	Yes, also archives the page and you can add annotations	Yes, with a bookmark for a limited number of sites (mostly publishers or databases)			Yes, with Web Capture tool		Yes, with RefGrabIt plugin
Storage capacity	Unlimited local storage and data syncing; 100MB free Zotero file syncing (larger syncing plans available for purchase).	Unlimited local storage and data syncing; 1GB personal and 100MB shared online space (larger online storage plans available for purchase)			Limited to 50,000 citations and 2 GB of attachment storage		Unlimited number of references and folders
Attach associated files (PDFs, etc.)	Yes, with option to attach automatically	Yes, and can highlight and annotate PDFs			Yes		For institutional licenses yes; for individual subscribers no
Search full text of PDFs	Yes	Yes			No		No
Create group or shared libraries	Yes	Yes, free for up to 3 group members (larger group plans available for purchase)			Yes		For institutional licenses yes; for individual subscribers no
Create bibliography with different styles	Yes	Yes			Yes (Alum version has limited styles)		Yes
Automatic citation extraction from PDFs	Yes	Yes			No		No
Mobile devices	Zotero.org mobile site. Import Bookmarklets for mobile browsers 3rd party apps (mostly readers)	iOS & Android apps Import bookmarklet for iPad			Endnote Mobile site iOS app with import functions in app browser		http://www.refworks.com/mobile mobile site (read & edit, import via SmartAdd function-DOI, PubMedID, ISBN, author/year/keyword search)
Other features	Sync library with multiple computers Use tags to organize/search		Sync library with multiple computers Sync with Zotero library	Word plugin installed on SCSU computer lab computers (Windows)		Refworks will update this October with new features
Problems	Manual entry only (via website) if plugins or software is not installed.		No formatted citation file import without software (PDFs and manual entries can be added via website). Word Plugin occasionally causes trouble on Macs.	Word Plugin occasionally causes trouble on Macs.		Personal accounts have more limited features than institutional accounts (neither SCSU nor WCSU have institutional subscriptions)

Once you've decided which tool to try first, go to the appropriate link below and set up an account. You can also download the appropriate plugins and other options. If you need help setting up, contact Rebecca or Tom.

You can definitely set up more than one account. However, it's usually easier to only use one tool at a time, especially when using the browser and word processor plugins.

Mendeley
From the Mendeley website, you can create an account and download the Mendeley software, word processor plugins, and save the browser bookmarklet (for adding citations from webpages and EBSCO databases.) Also see Rebecca's SCSU Mendeley Guide.
Zotero
From the Zotero website, you can create an account, download the Firefox browser plugin, word processor plugins, and add browser bookmarklets (for adding citations from websites when using non-Firefox browsers). Also see Rebecca's SCSU Zotero Guide.
Refworks
From the Refworks website, you can sign up for a free 30 day trial, download the browser and Word plugins. They also have extensive help files. Contact Tom for more information.
Endnote Web
This link will allow you to create a library sponsored account with Endnote web when you are on campus (SCSU or WCSU). You can also download plugins for Internet Explorer, Firefox, and MS Word (Windows and Mac). Also see Rebecca's SCSU Endnote Web Guide.