How to simplify citing

Some tools can significantly save you time when writing theses or semestral papers, both in citations within the text and in generating the final reference list.

However, they will not do all the work for you. For review, we recommend using practical citation examples.

Citation managers, citation software

Their primary purpose is to simplify citation, meaning referencing information sources in academic texts.

These software, applications, or tools help researchers, students, academics, and other professionals in research manage citations. Their main task is facilitating the collection, organisation, storage, and formatting of sources cited in academic papers, articles, dissertations, presentations, and other scholarly texts.

There are many options available to simplify the citation process. Of course, there are web-based citation generators, which are websites that can generate a citation in the desired citation style for a one-time use. However, citation managers offer more.

At their core, citation managers provide:

  • Collection and storage of sources (e.g., articles, books, manuals, data): You can import a document and its metadata (author, title, publisher, unique identifier, URL, etc.). This is usually done via web browser import or from disk. However, some citation managers allow the automatic import of information based on a document’s unique identifier, such as ISBN, ISSN, or DOI.
  • Generating citations and bibliographies: You can generate citations and reference lists in various citation styles. Students will primarily use APA and ISO 690 styles. However, each citation manager supports dozens, sometimes hundreds, of citation styles. PhD students can also find citation styles for specific academic journals.

Some citation managers also offer the following:

  • Automatic synchronisation: Some citation managers offer synchronisation across different devices, allowing users to access their bibliographic data from various locations.
  • Duplicate detection: Some citation managers can detect duplicates among stored sources, helping to maintain a clean and organised reference list.
  • Backup and security: Some citation managers offer features for data backup and protection against information loss.

Popular citation managers include Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, RefWorks and others. Each of these tools has its advantages and disadvantages.