Reference Management Software

Reference management software applications can help to organise, store and retrieve citations of books, articles, websites and reports.

You may choose to use reference management software for your assessment, literature review or thesis. 

Citations can be added manually, or may be directly exported from MultiSearch, library databases, or websites such as Google Scholar. 

PDFs can be dragged and dropped into the application.

Reference management software works with word-processing software (like Microsoft Word) to allow you to insert properly formatted in-text citations into a paper and create a bibliography.

Zotero is a popular free reference management tool.

However, if you simply want to create a reference list quickly and don't have a need for the complexity of reference management software, try a Citation Tool like ZoteroBib.

Saves you time because you can import your sources from databases, library catalogues and websites quickly and easily.

Keeps you organised because all your references are in one place.

Improves your accuracy as it imports in-text citations, which means you can use it with your word processor to insert your references directly into your assignment and generate a reference list in many referencing styles, such as APA.  Warning: Double-check your references against the APA Guide.

What it won't do

It will not correct errors or omissions that were in the database from which you retrieved references.

Some software is not as good as others at recognising websites, PDF reports or other sources where the metadata is incomplete. For example, Mendeley is not as good as Zotero at picking up metadata for reports downloaded from a website.  You may have to add some data.  It is up to you to check that your citation is correct in the program you are using.  What you put in is what you will get out.

Citation tools help you to quickly create citations for one source at a time.

They are usually free and available online.     

They do not to store citations or link to word-processing software.

If you don't want to learn how to use reference management software but want to create a reference list quickly, check out our guide to citation tools. 

There is no one program that currently works best to support everyone's needs.  

Online citation tools are helpful when you are in a rush and have a few sources to manage.  

Reference management software is more time-consuming but extremely useful for handling more complex citations, long essays, or theses, and for its word processing compatibility.  

There are a variety of tools available, and each has its own strengths. The ACAP Library no longer supports EndNote or Mendeley, but does support Zotero.