Reference management software

Part of any scientific work is a list of cited references (bibliography). Preparing such a list is facilitated by the use of reference managers. With the use of them you can:

  • save bibliographic descriptions from databases and other sources in selected folders, this way creating your own library of publication data (metadata),
  • quickly insert refences in the text in the bibliographic style of your choice,
  • based on the inserted references, the program will compile the list of cited literature at the end of our text,
  • you can change the format of the cited references according to the selected citation style with just a few mouse clicks,
  • saved bibliographic descriptions are available in one place and you can use them again and again.

Selected programs for reference management

EndNote is a tool from Clarivate Analytics. The program allows you to:

  • collect bibliographic data of publications from various databases, services, catalogs and the Internet,
  • organize data in folders and share them with other EndNote users,
  • insert references in documents in MS Word using the Cite While You Write plug-in,
  • automatically create a list of cited literature based on references in text,
  • use many reference styles available in the program,
  • easily change the reference style to another format.

You can log into EndNote using your individual Web of Science account. The online version of the tool is available under an academic national license.

Zotero is a free reference management tool. Among other things, Zotero allows you to:

  • download and collect bibliographic data,
  • export data to .doc or .odt formats,
  • cite literature in the text,
  • change the citation style throughout the whole document, 
  • automatically insert a cited reference list.

Mendeley is a reference management software and community platform for researchers. Among other things, Mendeley enables you to:

  • create your own library of publications online,
  • access the contents of your library online from anywhere in the world, from any computer or mobile device,
  • easily insert references and bibliographies,
  • cooperate and exchange comments with other researchers.

The basic version of the programme is free.

Citavi is a tool for collecting and organizing information. The application allows you to store bibliographic data, citations, comments, links and media files. The tool consists of three modules: 

  • knowledge organizer,
  • reference editor,
  • task scheduler.

Citavi:

  • enables you to search more than 4,000 databases and library catalogs (including WorldCat),
  • offers access to many citation styles,
  • cooperates with other bibliography management programs (such as EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley), searching them and importing publication titles,
  • downloads full texts of articles,
  • allows you to view PDF files, web pages, documents, images and presentations,
  • lets you collaborate with other users on a joint project using the Citavi Team add-on.

The free version of the program allows you to work with Team and Solo projects containing up to 100 titles. 

Citavi channel on YouTube