Subject Guides
Citation Managers
Guide Contents
What is a citation manager?
Citation managers (sometimes called reference managers) are tools that allow you to:
- Import citations from databases and Find It! as you research
- Save and organize citations
- Attach pdfs of articles and chapters, when available
- Create bibliographies in a variety of formats
- Insert footnotes and parenthetical citations as you write
- Collaborate with others using shared folders
Which tool is right for me?
There are many factors involved in choosing a citation manager. Here are some questions to consider:
- What are your colleagues, peers, labmates, advisors using?
- Is there a preferred or dominant citation manager in your field of study?
- Are you always working where there is reliable Internet access, or do you need a manager that you can sometimes access off-line?
Binghamton University Libraries provide support for the following citation managers:
- Zotero is a free, open-source citation manager that can be used online or through the desktop program. Zotero has a robust user community and tends to be more popular in the humanities and social sciences.
- Mendeley is a free, web-based citation manager that can be used online or through the desktop program. Mendeley tends to be more popular in the sciences.
- EndNote Basic is a free, simplified version of EndNote that is only available online.
For a more detailed comparison of these tools, see the table below.
Detailed Comparison of Tools
| Zotero | Mendeley | EndNote Basic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tech Requirements & Storage | |||
| Cost | Free; option to pay for additional cloud storage | Free; option to pay for additional cloud storage or additional private groups | Free |
| Online access (web platform) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline access (desktop program) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | 3rd party iOS and Android apps | iOS app and Android apps | No |
| Cloud storage | 300MB cloud storage | 2GB cloud storage | 2GB cloud storage |
| Maximum number of records | Unlimited records | Unlimited records | 50,000 records |
| Attachment limits | No limit on attachments per citation; no limit on file size | No limit on attachments per citation; Attachment file size limited to 250MB | No limit on attachments per citation; no limit on file size |
| Import & Export | |||
| Transfer data between citation managers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Direct export from databases | Yes, via web translators | Yes, via web importer | Yes, via Capture Reference importer |
| Direct search of databases | No | Can search the Mendeley database (papers in the libraries of other users) | Limited |
| Retrieve citation information from PDF | Yes (uses DOI or other extracted information from PDF; matches in Google Scholar) | Yes (PDF text analyzed for information, DOI, Arxiv, PubMed, Crossref ids, and Mendeley database all used to check citations | No |
| Citations | |||
| Creates formatted bibliographies and in-text citations in Google Docs | Yes | No | No |
| Creates formatted bibliographies and in-text citations in a word processor | Yes | Yes |
Yes |
| Edit or create citation styles | Yes (via Citation Style Editor) | Yes (via Mendeley CSL) | No |
| Number of reference types | 38 pre-defined | 20 pre-defined | 51 pre-defined |
| Organize & Edit | |||
| Global find/replace editing | No | No | Yes |
| Duplicate detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-complete data entry | Yes for author(s), journal title, tags | Yes for journal title, tags, keywords | No |
| Journal abbreviation lists | Version 4.0 and later can automatically abbreviate journal titles in Index Medicus/MEDLINE format | Abbreviations based on citation style selected; can be edited | None |
| Sort by | Any field | Any field | Author, title, year, and more |
| Field search | Yes (by any field) | Yes (by author, title, publication names, year, notes) | No (searches entire record only) |
| Full-text PDF search | Yes | Yes | No |
| Annotate PDFs | No, but will sync PDFs annotated with 3rd party software | Yes | No |
| Add notes to references | Yes (notes can stand alone or be attached to references) | Yes (via “notes” tab in desktop version) | Yes (in “notes” field) |
| Sharing | |||
| Collaboration | Create public and private groups; automatic synchronization of collections among multiple computers | Create public and private groups; automatic synchronization of collections among multiple computers; one private group of 3 members free (costs for private groups) |
Share with other EndNote users (cannot share file attachments); create shared groups that all users can edit |
| Read-only sharing | Yes (via member settings within groups) | Yes (by “follow” option through web interface) | Yes (in sharing options) |
Adapted from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries' comparison chart.
