Citation Management Tools

Bibliographic citation managers (e.g. EndNote Web, Zotero, etc.) help researchers keep track of their references for research papers, theses, dissertations, journal articles, publication lists, course reserve lists, or any other writing needs. The software also facilitates the downloading of citations directly from the Web, online databases, and online library catalogs. Using bibliographic citation managers helps researchers create bibliographies or lists of references and easily format them in a wide variety of styles.

As you write academic papers, you will need to use citations in order to give credit to other works you have used to support your argument, show background research, and provide a context to your studies.  Higher-level academic papers require you to use a lot of citations, and you can use citation management tools to make keeping track of your sources easier. 

A citation management tool is an online tool that allows you to store, organize, and export citations according to whatever style you need.  The University of Maryland subscribes to many tools that can make organizing your sources easier. 

Comparing Citation Managers

The following videos provide some tips on how to investigate and decide on the best bibliographic software for your needs. The speakers touch on criteria such as collaboration, system compatibility, free vs. cost and functionality.

How to Choose Reference Management Software	Comparison of Citation Managers	Zotero vs. Mendeley

This Citation Manager Comparison guide provides a quick reference to the following most used citation managers and can help you pick the tool that is most suited to your needs. Review the handout on the left for more features to compare!