Development Practice: Cite & Write

Reference managers (also called citation managers or bibliographic management software) offer a way to save, organize and manage references. They work with word processing software to format in-text citations and bibliographies for papers and theses, allow you to share references, and enable you to attach or link PDFs to a citation record.

Zotero (recommended)

• Zotero guide; learn how to use Zotero with this self-paced Zotero tutorial
• Free (up to 300 MB web storage, or store pdfs in Box and sync with ZotFile)
• Sync Zotero to access your library from any computer with internet access
• Format bibliographies in Word, OpenOffice, and Google Docs; integrates with Overleaf
• Capture citation data from PDFs and web pages
• Search and annotate pdfs
• Share and collaboratively edit lists of references
• Install plugins to provide enhancements, new features, and integrations with other programs.

RefWorks (note: UCB subscription ends 2024)

• RefWorks guide; also see the How to Use RefWorks YouTube playlist
• Free to UC Berkeley users (through early 2024)
• Web-based: use at any computer with internet access
• Format bibliographies in Word or Google Docs
• Capture citation data from some PDFs
• Search and annotate PDFs
• Share and collaboratively edit lists of references

Mendeley

• Mendeley guide
• Free software/web hybrid for PC, Mac, Linux
• Format bibliographies in Word, export to BibTeX, or use Overleaf for LaTeX integration
• Capture citation data from some PDFs
• Search and annotate PDFs
• Share and collaboratively edit lists of references using Private Groups

EndNote

• EndNote guide
• Full-featured software discounted to UC Berkeley users; EndNote Online free to UCB
• Desktop-based software (plus EndNote Web)
• Format bibliographies in Word or Open Office
• Capture citation data from some PDFs
• Annotate PDFs
• Find the full text of articles from within EndNote
• Share lists of references with other EndNote users

The Library also has many books on scientific writing, the research process, and communicating science. Please ask if you would like help finding them!

See researchdata.berkeley.edu for more information.