Organizing your citations
This page reviews citation managers, which are academic productivity tools that allow you to save your references, organize them into folders, and easily generate bibliographies. These tools will help you keep track of the numerous articles and other resources you're using for your projects. Citation managers will also help you properly cite your references when you're using other people's ideas and research in your own paper. Check the USC Libraries' APA Guides for additional information.
Citation managers share similar features and picking one is a matter of personal preference. Consider which features and interface you like and ask other Education students and faculty what they like and why. The Social and Behavioral Sciences librarians frequently offer workshops on RefWorks and Zotero which may help you identify the best citation manager for your needs.
Citation Manager Overview
Visit the USC Libraries RefWorks: Welcome to RefWorks to learn how to set up and use your RefWorks account.
- Cloud-based platform
- Synch with DropBox to enable offline use
- SaveToRefWorks browser bookmarklet allows you to save citation information from website with any modern internet browser
- Share folders with other users in the USC community
- Automatically create formatted bibliographies
- Includes plug-in for Microsoft Word and Google Docs to insert references directly from your RefWorks folders
- Unlimited storage space
- Free to USC students and you may continue using it after you graduate
Visit the USC Libraries Zotero Research Guide to learn how to set up and use Zotero.
Key features:
- Zotero Connector browser plug-in for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari allow you to save citation information from websites
- Desktop client allows you to work offline and synch with web application when online
- Will store any file type
- Annotation feature takes snapsnots of web pages, or text and images from books and articles
- Provides plugins for Word, Google Docs, and LibreOffice to automate bibliographies
- Note-taking feature allow you to create notes in Zotero and import them into word processing documents to facilitate the writing process
- Drag-and-drop citations into your paper
- Group libraries may be share with users outside of USC
- Publish your library or a certain folder as an RSS for others to see
- Free with costs for additional storage
Visit USC Libraries Getting Started with Mendeley to learn how to set up and use your own Mendeley account.
- Offers both a desktop and web client
- Web browser plug-in for easy citation importing
- Allows you to collaborate with colleagues and create groups
- Can extract bibliographic data from pdf files
- Syncs with other citation tools
- Allows you to add sticky notes and highlighting to pdf files
- Provides plugins for Word and OpenOffice to create bibliographies
- Drag-and-drop citations into your paper
- Provides research recommendation and trends based on tags and citations
Check out the USC's Norris Library's Guide to Setting up EndNote or visit the EndNote login page to get started.
- Insert in-text citations from your library with the Cite While You Write feature in Microsoft® Word.
- Automatically build your bibliography using the library of 7,000+ output styles or your own customized style.
- Ensure your bibliography is accurate with refreshed journal and referencing styles.
- Search hundreds of online resources for references and PDFs.
- Access full text research articles with one click.
- Easily read, review, annotate and search PDFs in your library.
- Create rules to automatically organize references as you write.
- Keep your data accurate with automatic reference and link updating.
- Desktop and web-based platforms