Citation Management Tools
Prepared by Samantha Hines, Social Sciences Librarian
Last Updated March 2007
Citation Management Software helps you keep track of articles, books, documents, websites and other items you are citing in publications, papers, and research projects. Using these resources can be helpful if you are working on research involving many citations (say, more than 20) or extensive projects like theses or dissertations.
RefWorks
RefWorks is one of the better known online citation management systems. RefWorks can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. RefWorks does not store the actual article you are citing, but merely the information about that article.
To access RefWorks: go from the library’s home page (www.lib.umt.edu) to Databases A-Z. Select RefWorks from the list.
Setting up a RefWorks account: This will require the use of your official UM email address. Off-campus access will require a Group Code which will be sent to you when you set up your account and can be re-sent by sending an email from your university account to refworks@umontana.edu.
For RefWorks Help: A RefWorks basics tutorial is available at http://www.refworks.com/tutorial. A quick start guide is available at http://www.refworks.com/content/quick_start_guide.asp. A Help menu is also available within RefWorks.
To add citations to RefWorks: You can do this within RefWorks under the References menu. You can also do this from various databases, usually under an “Export” menu. RefWorks provides a list of the databases that allow direct export on their website at: http://www.refworks.com/content/products/direct_export.asp
Finding citations once they’re in RefWorks: Use the Search menu. Citations can also be sorted under this menu by author, journal title, and subject descriptor.
Organizing your citations in RefWorks: Use the Folders menu to group citations into folders for various research topics/projects or whatever you’d like. Citations can be placed in more than one folder. Folders can also be shared via email or via the RefShare website, allowing for collaboration.
To use RefWorks to create a bibliography: Use the Bibliography menu. To create a bibliography within Word, download the Write-N-Cite plugin from the Help Menu.
EndNote Web
EndNote Web is a new online version of the popular EndNote citation management system. Formerly EndNote was based on the hard drive of your computer, but now it is available via the web and therefore you can store and access citations from any internet-connected computer.
To access EndNote Web: go from the library’s home page (www.lib.umt.edu) to Databases A-Z. Select EndNote Web from the list.
Setting up an EndNote Web account: This will require the use of your official UM email address. Selecting an acceptable password can be difficult with this resource as well. No special code is required for off-campus access, but you will have to initially register from an on-campus location.
For EndNote Web Help: An EndNoteWeb tutorial is available at: http://endnoteweb.com/training/tutorials/endnoteweb/. There is also a help menu available within the resource.
To add citations to EndNote Web: This is handled under the “Collect References” menu. You can also do this from various databases using the “Export” feature.
Finding citations once they’re in EndNote Web: Use the “Quick Search” up at the top of the screen.
Organizing your citations in EndNote Web: Use the “Organize References” menu to group references into folders by topic, project, or anything else. References may only be placed in one folder at a time.
To use EndNote Web to create a bibliography: Use the “Format References” menu. You can also download a plugin for creating bibliographies in Word.
Other Citation Management Resources
Zotero (www.zotero.org) is a Firefox extension that allows you to manage resources within your web browser. This resource is tied to a specific computer and can only handle one reference at a time rather than importing in batches like the above resources, but it is competely free and doesn’t require a UM email address. This resource allows for the creation of bibliographies online and in Word, but citation format choices are limited.
CiteULike (www.citeulike.org) is not tied to your web browser and is free to all users. It allows you to store and share citations via the internet like the popular web service del.icio.us. It does not support the creation of bibliographies, however.
Connotea (www.connotea.org) is not tied to your web browser or a particular computer. You log in via their website and are able to store and share citations, similar to CiteULike and del.icio.us. It does not support the creation of bibliographies but it is free to all users.