Citations and Bibliographies

Managing citations and references is an integral part of the research process. Tools like citation managers can help keep you organized and make your workflows more efficient. With a citation manager you can

• quickly capture and save bibliographic information (author, title, date, etc.) from an online resource
• create bibliographies, references, or works cited lists
• organize and share citations and documents
• add citations as you write
• reuse citations and change citation styles

Citation manager features

Some important features to consider when selecting a citation manager include

• cost
• ability to capture data from webpages and databases
• PDF management and storage options
• compatibility with operating system (ex. MacOS, PC, Linux) and word processor (ex. Microsoft Word, Google Docs)
• ability to share and collaborate on citation collections or libraries
• documentation and support

Read through the links below to compare citation managers using these and other features.

The bulleted links below take you to each citation manager's webpage. To get started and find help for one of these citation managers, look at the following pages in this guide: Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote.

Citation builders are a useful tool when building a Works Cited or References page. They are fillable forms that will generate citations for you in various styles based on the information you plug into them.

Remember, no tool is perfect, so always be sure to check your citations with a style guide!

The Libraries' Search It tool and many of our databases include citation features that will allow you to cite a resource that you found. The citation tools are usually called "Cite It", "Citation", "Cite Now", or something similar. Look on the sides of the pages for a link or menu that includes the link.

Here is an example of where the Search It citation feature is located: