Guides: Zotero: Citation Manager Basics

What are Citation Managers?

Citation managers are available to help you collect, organize, cite and share references.

Citation managers allow you to:

Manage all of your sources in one place.
Upload and store full-text PDFs and other file types for your sources.
Generate formatted bibliographies in desired format.
Install plug-ins for word processors that allow you to insert citations from the reference manager as you write.
Organize your references into meaningful collection folders that may serve a variety of purposes.
Share collections with colleagues to collaborate in private or open groups.
Facilitate the removal of duplicate citations.

Key questions for choosing a citation manager:

Ease of Use / Usability	Do I like the interface? Is it intuitive to me? Do I easily find the functions I'm looking for?
Operating system	Which software can I use with my operating system (Linux, Mac, Windows)? Which software offers an online version? Which software offers a mobile version/app?
Help	Are there any training courses for beginners? Are there any materials for self training (e.g. videos, manuals)? Is there any support if I need help (library, company, IT hotline, forums etc.)?
Compatibility	What external programmes should my reference management software support (e.g. word processor)?
Costs	Does the software cost anything? Is there a campus licence at my institution (university/company)? Are there potentially additional costs (e.g. after leaving institution, need for more storage space)?
What features should my reference management software offer?	Searching for full text? PDF editing? Generating bibliographies? Managing quotes / ideas? Catalogue and database search from within the programme? Indexing and structuring of content? Online access? Sharing and/or jointly editing references? Task planning? LaTeX support?
Where do I usually work?	Do I use always the same computer or do I switch sometimes? Do I have permission to install software on the computer I use? What reference management software do my colleagues/collaborators use?

Comparison of reference management software
This Wikipedia article provides a very comprehensive look at all the available citation managers.
Healey Library at UMass Boston: Citation Managers - Mendeley and Zotero:
A guide comparing Mendeley and Zotero.

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