What is Plagiarism?
The NU Academic Integrity Policy defines plagiarism as "intentionally representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one’s own in any academic exercise without providing proper citation."
- Plagiarism is an act of cheating.
- It disrupts the trust between a student and an instructor, and among classmates.
- It may result in a failing grade for an assignment, or even dismissal from a course.
- It can lead to a ruined reputation and loss of one's job.
Since it is a serious violation of intellectual integrity, plagiarism harms the reputation of the university as well as the individual.
For more information, see our guide to Avoiding Plagiarism.
Citation Management Software
Learn how a citation management tool can make your research life easier.
What is a citation manager?
A citation manager is a piece of software that helps you collect and organize your research and create bibliographies and in-text citations. Citation managers generally offer a range of citation styles and features to choose from.
Which citation managers does the library support?
The Northeastern library supports EndNote, Mendeley, RefWorks and Zotero. We also support the use of BibTeX and LaTeX.
Which citation manager should I use?
While citation managers generally have the same basic functions, each one offers some specific features.
Our citation manager comparison chart (below) can help you identify the features that will work best for you. See also our tutorial on choosing a citation manager.
- Comparison chart for citation management softwareCompares EndNote 20, RefWorks, Zotero, and Mendeley Desktop.
Citation Managers
What is a citation manager?
A citation manager is a piece of software that helps you organize your research and create bibliographies, reference lists or works cited pages. Citation managers generally offer a range of citation styles and features to choose from.
- EndNoteEndNote helps 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. EndNote is licensed for use by current NU faculty, staff, and students.
- EndNote OnlineEndNote Online/EndNote Web is a free, web-based version of the popular EndNote software. EndNote Online does not require download or installation. Make sure you sign up with your Northeastern.edu email address to access all features.
- MendeleyFree software that will help manage research, annotate PDFs, and format citations. Mendeley has both a cloud-based and desktop component.
- RefWorksRefWorks helps 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. RefWorks is licensed for use by current NU faculty, staff, and students.
- ZoteroZotero is a free open-source citation manager that lives in your web browser (Chrome or FireFox). It also offers plugins that can insert citations into your word processor.