Why do you need to cite?
- To give credit to the person or people who created the idea.
- To enable your readers to locate the sources you are engaging with, so they can read and evaluate them as well.
- To illustrate which person, people, and/or sources you are conversing with.
- To avoid plagiarism.
Citation Management Software
Use citation management software to help you collect and manage your references, import citations for articles and books from databases and the library catalog, and auto-format citations and bibliographies in your papers. The Library supports four programs: EndNote, RefWorks, Mendeley, and Zotero.
- Comparison chart for citation management softwareCompares EndNote X9, RefWorks, Zotero, and Mendeley Desktop.
- EndNoteHelps you manage your bibliography and citations, and is installed onto the computer of your choice. You store your citations offline on your computer, and use a Microsoft Word or Mac Pages plugin to automatically create bibliographies.
- RefWorksHelps you manage your bibliography and citations, and can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet. You store your citations on the RefWorks website, and use a Microsoft Word plugin to automatically create bibliographies.
- MendeleyFree software that will help you manage your research, annotate PDFs, and format citations. It has both a cloud-based and desktop component. There are also free mobile apps available for both iOS and Android.
- ZoteroA research toolbar for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari (or available as a standalone program) to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. Save a citation of whatever you're viewing on the web to create your own collection of research in one personalized library.
