Select Citation Management Tool
In this section, we introduce digital tools that help writers manage their citations. Scholars use citation management software or reference management software to record and keep track of bibliographic citations.
There are two components:
- A citation is a verbatim quotation published in quotation marks, or a reference to a book or journal article. The citation appears within the body text.
- A reference list is a list of all the sources the author cited in the body of the work. The reference list usually appears at the end of the article, book, or text.
The required citation style determines the format you should use for citations and reference lists. Examples include the American Psychological Association (APA) format and the Oxford Citation style.
For more information on citation styles, consult the OERu micro-course Making Your Arguments More Credible.
Choose or Use the Recommended Tool
Choosing a software application is an important digital literacy, particularly if you consider the adage “if you’re using it for free, you are the product.”
Teaching the skills associated with software selection falls outside the scope of this micro-course. However, should you want to explore the process of selecting a software tool you can complete the optional activity below.
For learners pressed for time:
- If you are already using a citation management tool, feel free to use this for the course.
- If you do not have a citation management tool, use Zotero, an open source product.
Help Resources for Zotero
Overview of Citation Management Tools
Choose a Reference Management Tool (Optional)
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to select a reference management tool appropriate to your needs and to refine your skills in choosing software.
OERu does not endorse any particular products as we respect freedom of software choice. There are a wide variety of citation management tools, both proprietary and open source. There are both online cloud services with browser plugins and software options you can download for working locally on your desktop. Some proprietary tools offer free versions, but as a proprietary service there is no guarantee that these will remain free in perpetuity. However, Zotero is a widely used open source tool available for Mac, Windows and Linux, with browser plugins for Chrome, Safari and Firefox.
Steps
- Review the tutorial Selecting a Reference Management Tool, from The Open University (click on the next arrow on the top of the screen to sequence through the four pages of the tutorial).
- Scan the Comparison of Reference Management Software from Wikipedia.
- Make a shortlist and study the features published on the websites of the reference management tools.
- Select a tool taking the following into account:
- Your preferences for accessing the tool.
- We recommend using a tool that integrates with the word processing software you are using.
- Check whether online help resources are available on the source website, or video tutorials are available on Youtube.
- Many citation management tools allow you to maintain an online copy of your library that synchronizes your local database so you can access it using multiple devices. Check the terms and conditions for using the online cloud service. Many providers offer a free tier online service with restrictions, such as limited storage space. Most free services will work perfectly well for this course, but make sure you can export your library if you want to change your citation management tool later.
What tool did you choose? Let us know by sharing a comment on the discussion forum, for example:
- I chose EndNote basic because …
- I selected Zotero because …
- I like Mendeley because …
- I prefer <insert tool> because …
Note: Your comment will be displayed in the course feed.