Molecular and Cell Biology: Save, organize & cite

Citation managers (also called reference managers or bibliographic management software) offer a way to save, organize and manage references. Many 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.

Citation managers supported by the UC Berkeley Library:

• Zotero guide [UC Berkeley Library]
• Zotero documentation [Zotero.org]
• Free Zotero workshops [UC Berkeley Library; offered in the Fall and Spring semesters]
• Free desktop program with browser connector; 300 MB storage (can be synced with Google Drive, Berkeley Box or Dropbox for greater storage--see Zotero guide for details)
• Sync Zotero to access your library from any computer with internet access
• Insert citations and automatically format reference lists in Google Docs/bDrive, MS Word and LibreOffice
• Capture citation data from PDFs and web pages
• Share and collaboratively edit folders of references

• Mendeley guide [UC Berkeley Library]
• Free software/web hybrid for PC, Mac, Linux
• Format bibliographies in MS Word
• Sync PDFs to your web account for online access
• Capture citation data from some PDFs
• Read and annotate PDFs
• Share and collaboratively edit folders of references

• EndNote guide [UC Berkeley Library]
• Desktop-based software and online EndNote Web
• Desktop program requires purchase; EndNote Web is available without cost to UC Berkeley students, faculty and staff
• Format bibliographies in MS Word
• Capture citation data from some PDFs
• Annotate PDFs
• Find the full text of articles from within desktop EndNote
• Share lists of references with other EndNote users

For additional options: Wikipedia comparison of reference management software

• LaTeX in Engineering & Physical Sciences: The document formatting markup language LaTeX, which is especially useful for rendering mathematical and chemical symbols and equations (UC Berkeley Library guide)
• Virtual Online Library Tutorials (VOLT): LaTeX: Self-paced exercises for learning LaTeX

• Writing + Citing in the Sciences: LaTeX editor Overleaf and citation managers (UC Berkeley Library guide)

Citation Styles

There are hundreds of different citation styles. Here is the same citation formatted in five different scientific citation styles. Note the differences in the order, format and punctuation of the elements of the citation; also note that styles vary in whether they include the issue number or the DOI, and whether or not they abbreviate the journal name:

The journal Nature:
Brar, G. A. & Weissman, J. S. Ribosome profiling reveals the what, when, where and how of protein synthesis. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 16, 651-664 (2015).
Guide to Nature citation style: https://www.nature.com/nature/for-authors/formatting-guide

The journal Science:
G. A. Brar, J. S. Weissman, Ribosome profiling reveals the what, when, where and how of protein synthesis. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 16, 651-664 (2015).
Guide to Science citation style: https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

Council of Science Editors, 8th edition:
Brar GA, Weissman JS. 2015. Ribosome profiling reveals the what, when, where and how of protein synthesis. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 16(11):651-64.
Guide to the Council of Science Editors citation style: https://www.scientificstyleandformat.org/Tools/SSF-Citation-Quick-Guide.html

The journal BioScience:
Brar GA, Weissman JS. 2015. Ribosome profiling reveals the what, when, where and how of protein synthesis. Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology 16: 651-664.
Guide to BioScience citation style: https://static.primary.prod.gcms.the-infra.com/static/site/bioscience/document/2015-bioscience-style-guide.doc

The Journal of Cell Biology:
Brar, G.A., and J.S. Weissman. 2015. Ribosome profiling reveals the what, when, where and how of protein synthesis. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 16:651-664. doi: 10.1038/nrm4069.
Guide to Journal of Cell Biology citation style: https://rupress.org/jcb/pages/reference-guidelines

The journal Cell:
Brar, G.A., and Weissman, J.S. (2015). Ribosome profiling reveals the what, when, where and how of protein synthesis. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 16, 651–664.
Guide to Cell citation style: https://www.cell.com/cell/authors#format