Rowan University Library provides free access to RefWorks, EndNote, and Mendeley citation managers. With so many citation managers available to help with formatting papers, a common question is which one should I use?
There is no perfect tool, but they do help with saving time, organizing your research, and creating formatted manuscripts.
The following guide is designed to compare the different features of four of the most popular citation managers: Zotero, Mendeley, RefWorks, and EndNote.
The strengths for each are the following:
Zotero: easy to learn, quick for collecting citations and organizing PDFs, user friendly features such as tagging, you are reliant on the community of users if you need help using it. No built in customer support. It is completely open source.
Mendeley: automatic citation extract from PDFs, sync library over multiple computers, sync with Zotero library automatically, they do have built in customer support.
EndNote: Best for organizing large collections of citations and managing PDFs (systematic reviews), wide variety of citation styles, easily customizable. Does require a license, which is paid for by Rowan.
RefWorks: Easy to learn and organize research, easy to sharw with collagues, unlimited storage, does require a license which is paid for by Rowan University Libraries, includes responsive customer support.
If you need assistance in using the citation managers, email the Rowan librarians.
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I Need to: |
Use: |
Why: |
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Work from multiple computers or locations |
Zotero Mendeley RefWorks EndNote Web |
Zotero saves your citation library to your local computer, but syncs with multiple computers so you can work from home, work, or school. RefWorks is web-based and allows you to access content with an internet connection. EndNote Web is web-based. Your citation library is accessible from any computer that is connected to the web. |
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Work without an Internet connection |
Zotero Mendeley EndNote |
Zotero, Mendeley and EndNote can store your citation libraries locally on your computer. |
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Archive web pages and import citations from sites such as Amazon, Flickr, and ArtSTOR |
Zotero RefWorks Mendeley EndNote |
All allow you to easily save snapshots of web pages and annotate them within your citation library. It is a great tool for saving citation information from some web-based publications and commercial and social networking sites. |
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Work on a group project or share my citations with others |
Zotero Mendeley RefWorks
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Zotero allows you to share your citations through shared folders -- you can give individuals or groups permissions to add and edit the citations in the shared folder. Mendeley allows you to share citations and documents with a group of up to 10 other users, or create a public reading list that is open to all. EndNote Web allows you to share groups with anyone who is registered with the service. You can allow others to view or edit your citations RefWorks allows for sharing of folders or projects with collaborators.. |
Adapted with permission from “Choosing a Citation Manager,” copyright © 2011 The Pennsylvania State University.