Choose a tool
Considerations
Some things to consider when choosing a program:
- is the program compatible with my operating system and word processing package?
- do I need remote access to my reference collection?
- do I need to share my reference sets with others? What are they using?
- can I transfer my references to another system? Different organisations may use different systems.
- am I willing to undertake some online tutorials or attend some training to learn how to use the software effectively?
- where are my references stored? (on a local drive/or specific computer or in the 'cloud' ?)
- is the program available on University-owned computers? (Usually not an issue for web-based tools).
- which tool do researchers in my discipline tend to use? Does it matter? (Talk to people in your department.)
Comparison table
There are many more referencing tools available. For a comprehensive comparison table, visit Wikipedia's Comparison of reference management software
| EndNote | Zotero | BibLaTeX | Mendeley | Paperpile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free of charge? | No, but La Trobe has an institutional license so no cost while at LTU | Yes | Yes | Yes | from US$2.99 per month |
| Desktop or web? | Desktop and web | Desktop and can be synchronised on Zotero server | Desktop | Desktop and web | Web |
| Referencing styles | Over 6000 styles | Over 6000 styles | Most journals that support LaTeX have customised BibLaTeX style files | Over 6000 styles | Over 6000 styles |
| Direct export from database | Available from most academic databases | 100s of web resources allow direct export of records | Some | From many databases | Some |
| Word processing integration | MS Word, open office | MS Word, open office google docs | LaTex | MS Word, open office, Google docs | Google Docs |
| Mobile & iPad | iOS only | 3rd party apps | No | Yes | No |