Climate: Citation Management
Citation Management
Citation management software products:
- Download Zotero (Free)
- Download BibDesk (Free)
- Download EndNote
- Download Mendeley (Free)
- More bibliographic sofware info
Please note: Columbia University Libraries will be reviewing its support for EndNote over the next academic year. If you are just getting started with citation management, we strongly recommend using a robust, free application such as Zotero. If you are a long-time user of Endnote, we recommend you spend some time familiarizing yourself with an alternative tool in order to determine if there is another which best fits your needs.
Citation management software makes mining and using information resources easier and more effective, helping you to:
- Capture bibliographic and full-text information as you explore
- Organize, evaluate, annotate, and search within your collection
- Cite and list resources in a wide range of bibliographic styles as needed
- Access the information on your desktop or online
- Synchronize your data across multiple machines
- Share your research with others
Need help choosing a reference manager? Check out Wikipedia's Comparison of Reference Management Software
General Citation Sources & Tools
- Duke Library - Citing Sources (APA, Chicago, MLA, CSE, & Turabian)
- Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) - Research and Citation Resources (APA, Chicago, IEEE, AMA, & MLA)
- Electronic Styles: a handbook for citing electronic information (APA, MLA).
- Library of Congress - Citing Digitized Primary Sources (APA, Chicago, & MLA)
- The Columbia Guide to Online Style: Includes guidelines for online citations and for formatting your documents.
- Citing Government Documents: Includes citation formats for specific government documents.
- DataCite: citing data.
Citation Formatters:
Plagiarism
- What is Plagiarism and How to Avoid It
- Academic Integrity at Columbia College
- Columbia Copyright Advisory Services
Other Resources:
- Plagiarism Tutorial, Duke University
- Academic Integrity Guide, Northwestern University
- Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It, Indiana University
- Common Scholarly Procedures, Duke University
Getting Help
WORKSHOPS:
- The Libraries offer free hands-on workshops on using citation management software. You can find information about dates and times as well as register online to attend one of these sessions on the Libraries Workshops page.
WHICH ONE SHOULD I PICK?
- We generally recommend Zotero if you're just starting out. Your specific work environment may dictate your choice -- e.g. are you joining a lab where something else is already in use? Do you expect a lot of collaborative work in which it might be useful to share citation libraries? -- but in general, Zotero should work for all your needs.
GETTING HELP:
- As always, you can Ask A Librarian any questions related to library-supported resources. You can do so in person at a reference desk, by email, by phone, or in an online chat session.
CONVERTING AN EXISTING CITATION LIBRARY TO A DIFFERENT APPLICATION:
- Zotero provides instructions on how to import reference libraries from other software you may have used in the past.
- If you are transferring from Endnote, the process is a little more intricate; here's a separate page describing it. If you are a long-time Endnote user who would like to move your data, and you need help, do not hesitate to schedule a consultation with a librarian who will help you through this process.
- If you are a Mendeley user, here are instructions on importing reference libraries from other citation management software.
CURIOUS ABOUT OTHER SOFTWARE?
- If you are a heavy LaTeX user, BibDesk might suit your needs.
- See also: Wikipedia's Comparison of Reference Management Software
Ask A Librarian
