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Using Citation Management Software: What Is Citation Management Software?

Use citation management software to create bibliographies, lists of works cited, and individualized research libraries.

What Is Citation Management Software?

Citation management software collects citations from various sources, organizes them, and compiles them into a bibliography or list of works cited. The software helps the user create citations in numerous different styles such as APA, MLA, Turabian, and Chicago.

Citations, bibliographies, or cited references pages generated by these programs are not always 100% accurate. Double-checking the citations with the use of a style guide is recommended. 

Comparison Chart

Comparison chart of the citation/reference managers available to LSU users
  EndNote Mendeley Zotero
Storage Space Unlimited 2GB 300MB
Cost  Free for LSU Students, Faculty and Staff trough Tigerware Free - more storage is available for a fee Free - more storage is available for a fee
Web or Desktop Client? Both Both. Works with IE, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari Desktop software and browser add-on for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari
Technical Support Professional technical support Good user community; limited direct technical support from Mendeley Good user community 
Interface Language English English  English
Strengths Very robust; good search and storage capability; direct export option with most databases; works well with PubMed Large social component - can find other researchers in same field Good at pulling metadata metadata from web pages; PDFs import automatically 
Can others view records I've saved? Yes Yes Yes
Does it work with word processing programs/apps? Cite While Your Write works with MS Word and OpenOffice; Format Paper works with Pages, Nissus, WordPad, and other programs/apps Works with Open Office, La Tex (The plugin for MS Word is no longer allowed by LSU ITS) Plug-ins work with MS Word, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and Google Docs
Does it have a mobile site or app? Yes Yes Yes
Other Considerations Steep learning curve; best option for larger collections (1000+); the desktop client can make your computer run slower Recommend using another tool with Mendeley; does not work well with EBSCO databases Optimized for Firefox but works with Safari and Chrome browsers with installation of a client; open source 

 

Reviewing Way to Avoid Plagiarism

"What is Plagiarism?

Nearly everyone understands that copying passages verbatim from another writer's work and representing them as one's own work constitutes plagiarism. Yet plagiarism involves much more. At LSU plagiarism is defined to include any use of another's work and submitting that work as one's own. This means not only copying passages of writing or direct quotations but also paraphrasing or using structure or ideas without citation. Learning how to paraphrase and when and how to cite is an essential step in maintaining academic integrity." From LSU Student Advocacy & Accountability

Here are some links to help you avoid plagiarism when working on your papers.

Is writing not your strongest suit? That's okay! If you need writing assistance, we HIGHLY recommend the CXC writing center. They can help you.