Citation Guide

What are citation managers?

Citation managers are tools to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources.

They allow you to: 

  • import files
  • create an organization system
  • makes notes and highlight
  • and use the plugin to create references in applications like Word.   

Choosing a citation manager is a matter of personal choice. Research can easily be imported from one citation manager to the next, so you can easily switch if you find one you like better. There are free and paid citation managers, and for general research, a free platform will provide all the tools you need.  

Citation Managers

Zotero  

Desktop App 

System Requirements: MacOS 10.11 or later, Windows 7 or later, Linux 

Zotero Connector: Chrome, Firefox, Safari 

Cost: Free for up to 300mb of storage, paid package for more storage  

Plugins: Word (Mac & PC), LibreOffice 

Annotates PDF’s: No 

Collaboration: Create groups to share sources 

Compatible Apps:  

Mendeley  

Desktop & Web-based 

System Requirements: MacOS 10.10 or later, Windows 7 or later, Linux 

Web Importer: Chrome, Firefox 

Cost: Free for up to 2GB of storage, paid package for more storage 

Plugins: Word (Mac & PC), LibreOffice 

Annotates PDF’s: Yes 

Collaboration: Create up to 5 groups with 25 members each 

Compatible Apps:  

 

Web-based 

Cost: Free for up to 2GB of storage 

Plugins: Word (Mac & PC) 

Annotates PDF’s: No 

Collaboration: Share folders 

Compatible Apps:  

Adobe Reader

Adobe Reader is a free application that allows users to view, print, sign, and annotate PDF's. This simple, but powerful, tool is great for highlighting text. 

Organizational Apps

​There are lot of great organizational apps on the market. Many are free, or provide free trials. Some are text based, while others organize information into visual graphics. Below are just a few to get you started. 

  • Trello (Mobile - iOS, Android) 
    • ​Create boards, lists, and cards to organize and prioritize your projects.  
  • Pearltrees (Mobile - iOS, Android) 
    • ​Save files, web pages, notes, photos, and videos into visual collections. 
  • myHomework (Mobile and Desktop – Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, Chrome, Kindle) 
    • Student planner app that lets you track assignments, tests, due dates and sends reminders.  
  • Evernote (Mobile - iOS & Android) 
    • A tracking app for notes, websites, projects, and to-do lists.