Citation management tools help you keep track of your research in the following ways:
Citation management tools are also called bibliography management or reference management tools or software.
A few examples of how you might use these tools:
There are several popular citation management tools. They share the same basic functions, as outlined in the box to the left. This chart explains some of the key differences:
Name | Cost | Strengths and special features | Access and devices | Supports images? |
Zotero | Free, with 300MB of storage. Option to pay for extra storage space. |
Intuitive and very easy to use. Integrates directly into browser so that you can add a citation with one click. Manages a variety of formats and file types (web pages, PDFs, audio, video, images, etc.) Can sync with multiple computers.
|
Browser extension: Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Edge OS: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS Word processing extension: Microsoft Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice. |
Yes. Import and organize image files and URLs. |
Mendeley | Free, with 2GB of storage. Option to pay for extra storage space. |
Excellent for use with PDFs, but also handles a variety of file formats. Annotate PDFs. Extract metadata from PDFs. Provides more free storage than Zotero. Fairly easy to use. Can sync with multiple computers. |
Desktop application: Mac, Windows or Linux Browser extension: Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge Word processing extension: Microsoft Word or LibreOffice. |
Yes |
Papers |
Essentials: $65/year Pro: $130/year 40% off for students and academics Free 30-day trial. Free iOS app. |
Specializes in managing PDFs, particularly scientific articles. Annotate PDFs Search some databases directly within the program (JSTOR, Google Scholar, PubMed, etc.). Includes AI Chat with PDFs
|
Mac, Windows, Web, Android, and iOS programs Browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge |
No |
EndNote |
Sells different versions of EndNote from $175-$385. Free 30-day trial |
Highly customizable, but steeper learning curve. High storage capacity and therefore excellent for large projects like theses or book-length works. Annotate PDFs. Search many databases directly. AI features |
Desktop application: Mac, Windows Mobile: iOS app |
Yes |
Keep in mind: these tools generally make it easy to import citations from one citation management tool to another. If you try one and find that you do not like it, just import your citations to another tool.
For a comprehensive comparison of citation management tools, consult this chart on Wikipedia.
Citation management tools are particularly useful for art and design research because most allow you to organize and link images with your research. The following links outline how to organize images with Mendeley and Zotero.