Citation manager, bibliographic management software, and reference management software all refer to the same type of software. These tools help researchers to build personal databases of citations, organize and manage those references, and then facilitate generating in-text citations and bibliographies.
Comparing Citation Managers
Features |
EndNote Web |
Mendeley |
RefWorks |
Zotero |
| Where do I sign up? | Through the database Web of Science or myendnoteweb |
Get Mendeley |
Sign
Up for RefWorks |
Register for Zotero |
Cost |
Free for UMD Faculty, Staff, and Students. |
Free for everyone. |
Free for UMD Faculty, Staff, and Students. | Free for everyone. |
Available after I leave UMD? |
No, unless you go to another institution with a subscription or you purchase a personal subscription. |
Yes |
No, unless you go to another institution with a subscription or you purchase a personal subscription. | Yes |
Accessibility |
Only available online. |
Accessible online and on your workstation. |
Only available online. | Accessible online and on your workstation. |
Can I share citations? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes,in theory, but I have encountered a known bug when trying to add things to a shared folder. |
Ability to directly export from the catalog and many databases |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Attach associated files (PDFs, etc.) |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Link to documents (articles, reports, etc.) with UMDs "Find It" |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, but it must be manually configured. |
Word processor compatibility (requires downloading a plug-in) |
MS Word |
MS Word, Open Office, and LaTex |
MS Word and any other word processor that allows you to save files as .RTF |
MS Word, Open Office, and Google Docs |
Link to Help / Support pages |
