Citation managers (sometimes called reference managers) are tools that allow you to:
There are many factors involved in choosing a citation manager. Here are some questions to consider:
Binghamton University Libraries provide support for the following citation managers:
For a more detailed comparison of these tools, see the table below.
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.