Reference management tools

Mendeley reference manager

Mendeley is as an alternative to the EndNote desktop program. Use it to store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books, articles, documents, web pages, artwork, films, sound recordings, bills, cases, and statutes.

Features

Mendeley is compatible with Mac and Windows. There are also iPhone and iPad versions, and a number of unofficial apps for Android devices are available.

It is simple to use, you can ‘drag and drop’ files into Mendeley, and the program finds the bibliographic information on the web.

You can import citations (and some full-text articles) directly from many databases and journals, and from other bibliographic management tools, such as Endnote, Zotero and Refworks.

Data is synced across all platforms; when you log into one account it syncs all information, so data won’t be lost. For example, when you log into your desktop version of Mendeley, citations that were added to the online account will be imported to the desktop.

You can create subject folders, groups and tags for articles, and share these with other users.

You can annotate and highlight full-text articles in the library, as well as cut and paste. You can add notes for your own reference to the citation information box and share them with other users in your groups.

Mendeley allows you to search for related/recommended articles in other users’ libraries, join groups with people researching similar topics, and network with these people.

Go to a full list of features and comparisons with other bibliographic management systems for more information.

Plug-ins for word processors

Mendeley generates citations in much the same way as Endnote, via a plug-in installed in the word processor (MS Word, OpenOffice and LaTeX) or from the bib manager program.

Referencing styles supported

Comes with eight citation styles, but also connects with the Zotero database of styles.

Storage limits

With a free web-based Personal Mendeley account, each user receives 2 GB of storage for personal documents, and 100 MB for shared web storage. More information: What do I get with a free Mendeley account? Additional storage and features are available with the premium Mendeley Institutional Edition. Please see below for access.

Access and downloads

Please note: software cannot be downloaded or installed on RMIT lab computers.

• Mendeley Desktop for Windows (7, 8.1 and 10).
• Mendeley Desktop for macOS (10.10 Yosemite, 10.11 El Capitan, 10.12 Sierra, 10.13 High Sierra).
• Mendeley Reference Manager Lite app - for iPhone, iPad and iPod.
• Mendeley Web Importer - bookmarklet for importing articles, web pages and other documents from search engines and databases directly into your Mendeley library.
• Mendeley Institutional Edition (MIE) – is the premium Institutional version of your free Personal Mendeley account. MIE gives you an increase in personal and shared storage, and in the number of private groups and collaborators. To access MIE for free, you must use your RMIT e-mail address to either create an account/register (if you do not currently have a Personal account) OR log in (if you already have a Personal account). MIE access will remain free for as long as you are a current student or staff member of RMIT University.
  PLEASE NOTE: Just before you graduate or leave RMIT, please change your RMIT e-mail address to a personal one in your Mendeley account settings. This will ensure you will have continued access to your Mendeley account. Once you leave RMIT, access to the MIE version will cease, and it will revert back to the free Personal version you had. Can compare both versions.

You cannot directly export records from the RMIT University Library catalogue into Mendeley.

Help

Help is available from Mendeley’s website. RMIT does not provide assistance with this software.

Zotero reference manager

Zotero is as an alternative to the EndNote desktop program. Use it to store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books, articles, documents, web pages, artwork, films, sound recordings, bills, cases, and statutes.

Features

Citations or references (called items) are stored in a folder “My Library”, and you can create sub-folders (called collections). Collections can be set up with Advanced Search function to automatically add new items.

You can assign tags to each item for later retrieval. Items can have notes, files and links attached to them. File attachments, such as PDFs and images, can be opened within Firefox, and other file-types open in external programs. Web pages are attached as links, or snapshots of the page on a particular date.

When searching the Internet, you can add items (including PDFs when available) to ‘My Library’ by clicking on the ‘Capture’ icon on the Zotero toolbar or add items manually.

One of the main features is the ability to create and join research groups on a specific topic. Each group can share its own research library, complete with files, bibliographic data, notes, and discussion threads.

Plug-ins for word processors

Plug-ins are available for Microsoft Word and OpenOffice.

In-text citations, footnotes and endnotes are all supported. Zotero can insert citations and bibliographies into any text field or program. Simply drag-and-drop items, and use ‘Quick Copy’ to send citations to the clipboard, or export them directly to a file.

Bibliographies are automatically generated and styles can be changed at any time.

It can be used with Google Docs, but at the moment (November 2011) there is no way to get an automatically updating bibliography in a Google Document.

Referencing styles supported

Zotero supports 1,767 styles, including APA 6th, Vancouver, several versions of Chicago and Harvard. New citation styles can be created and added to this list. A full list of Zotero styles is available.

Storage limits

Each user gets 300 MB of free storage for attached files, with larger storage plans available for purchase.

Access and downloads

Please note: software cannot be downloaded or installed on RMIT lab computers.

• Download Zotero (Standalone and a browser connector for either Chrome, Firefox or Safari)
• Quick start guide
• Plug-ins for word processors

Websites transfer their data to Zotero through ‘translators’. There is a list of the compatible sites, which includes Pub Med, Scopus and EbscoHOST and many library catalogues. You can capture book records from LibrarySearch into Zotero. Make sure that sufficient details are captured. When tested in May 2013 you cannot capture article records.

Help

Help is available from Zotero’s website. RMIT does not provide assistance with this software.

Reference generators

Are you working on a short assignment that will need a few references only? Then try using one of the free online reference generators instead of the a reference manaager, such as EndNote.

Why use online referencing generators:

• Can format references in most popular styles
• Let you copy and paste the references into your bibliography or reference list
• You can use them in a browser.

If you decide to try one of these tools for your RMIT assignment, remember:

• Use them for APA, Vancouver, MLA and Oxford styles only. RMIT has its own version of the Harvard style, so for this style it is safer to use our Easy Cite.
• They can generate full references, but most can't help you with in-text citations.
• They lack advanced features available in EndNote and other bibliographic management tools.
• You might not be able to download bibliographic records from LibrarySearch and the databases. If this option is available, you will need to check the records for any errors that need correcting.
• Don't submit your assignment without reviewing the references first. Online generators are error-prone, so always check the list of references they produce.

Here are some examples of reference generators:

• BibMe
• CitationGenerator (integrates with Grammarly)
• Citation Machine
• Cite This For Me (this tool can generate in-text citations)
• EasyBib
• ResearchoMatic

Compare reference managers

We've created a comparison guide to help you choose between the three common reference managers: EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley.

• Wikipedia: Comparison of reference management software
• University of Toronto Libraries: Citation management
• MIT Libraries: Citation management tools
• American University: Which citation manager should I choose? (comparison does not include EndNote desktop)