Citing and Managing Sources

Citation managers are indispensable for serious academic research, allowing users to keep organized records of the sources they find and include in their research.

Citation managers allow you to create and track references, or 'citations', and to create bibliographies or reference lists formatted in the style appropriate to that discipline, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, and many others. Citation managers allow you to import resource records directly from academic databases such as Academic Search Premier, PsycINFO, JSTOR, Web of Science, and most others. You may organize your records into folders and groups and add notes and other metadata, such as abstracts, keywords and often documents themselves (pdfs) to enhance and improve the efficiency of your research.

Why use a citation manager?

• Organize your references according to your needs
• Eliminate duplicate citations
• Create bibliographies and references directly from searches
• Create your own critical abstracts and notes
• Re-use or re-purpose citations throughout your academic career
• Embed footnotes/endnotes directly within your text editors

Note: Currently no citation manager handles legal citation formats

Citation managers are tools which see heavy use by serious researchers, and it's important to use an application that you find easy enough to use and powerful enough for your needs.  You may wish to begin by using what your colleagues are using—most citation managers allow the limited sharing of reference libraries. Using the same application as your colleagues may mean you can ask them for help in learning the ins-and-outs of the application. However, the library offers workshops and other training, and librarian experts are available for one-on-one instruction.