Bibliographic managers allow you to collect, store and manage your references in one place, saving you valuable time.
They also allow you to:
There are a wide range of bibliographic managers to choose from. They don't all have the same features; the chart below illustrates the strengths of each software package.
EndNote | EndNote online | Mendeley | Zotero | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cost | Free to all UoM staff and students on campus and for personal download | Free to all UoM staff and students on and off campus | Free to everyone | Free to everyone |
Access | Networked on UoM clusters; may use in conjunction with EndNote Web Web-based, data interchangeable with networked EndNote | Cloud based. You need to install a word pluggin to use it correctly. | Desktop software and web-based. Works with IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari | Desktop software and browser add-on for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari |
Difficulty | Moderate learning curve | Quick to learn - less functionality than the full version | Moderate learning curve | Moderate learning curve |
Speed | Fast performance | Slower performance | Web based; performance dependant on network speed | Web based; performance dependant on network speed |
Customisable | Very customisable | Less customisable | Very customisable | Very customisable |
Journal appreviation lists | Includes journal abbreviation lists | Does not include journal abbreviation lists | Not straightforward; consult the Mendeley help pages | Yes this option is available in document preferences |
Link to Findit@MCR | Link to Findit@MCR can be configured | Automatically links to Findit@MCR | No | No |
Link to URLs | Can link to URLs, and to local documents (PDFs, word docs etc) | No | Can link to URLs, and to local documents (PDFs, word docs etc) | Can link to URLs, and to local documents (PDFs, word docs etc) |
Attach full text articles/documents | Can automatically find & attach full text journal articles (PDFs) | Cannot attach documents or other files | Very easy to attach documents and other files | Very easy to attach documents and other files |
Web page capture | Can capture webpage data using the Web Capture download installer. | Can capture webpage data using the Web Capture download installer. | Can capture web page data | Can capture web page data |
Adding notes/tags | Easy to add your own notes and tags | Can add your own notes and tags | Easy to add your own notes and tags | Easy to add your own notes and tags |
Inserting figures, tables etc. | Can create records to insert figures, tables, etc., into papers | Can create records to insert figures, tables, etc., into papers | Can create records to insert figures, tables, etc., into papers | Can create records to insert figures, tables, etc., into papers |
Referencing styles | 5000+ bibliographic styles + create your own style | 3000+ bibliographic styles | Many standard referencing styles | Many standard referencing styles |
Sharing your references | Can share libraries with other EndNote users via EndNote Web | Can share libraries with other EndNote online users | Can share citations via private group. | Can share citations via Zotero website |
Reference collection and organisation | Appropriate for collecting and organizing sources & preparing manuscripts for publication | Not as good a stand-alone choice; best used with EndNote Desktop | Appropriate for collecting and organizing sources & preparing manuscripts for publication | Appropriate for collecting and organizing sources & preparing manuscripts for publication |
Recommended for | UG/PGT/PGR/Staff | UG/PGT | PGT/PGR/Staff | PGT/PGR/Staff |