EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, and other bibliographic management programs will:
- Let you create a database of citations you find;
- Let you organize these citations in folder or groups
- Link to PDF files, or store PDF files in your database;
- Work with Microsoft Word to correctly cite citations into your document
(some also work with Google Docs or Apple Pages);
- Allow for some degree of sharing. (Tips for collaborating with citation software).
You can download a free 30 day EndNote trial and can purchase EndNote at a discount.
Zotero and Mendeley are free; use your UC Berkeley email when creating a Mendeley account for more features.
Learn how to use these programs:
EndNote exercise set (docx);
Zotero exercise set (docx);
Mendeley exercise set.
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Literature Review Matrix (.doc):
This chart may help you organize what you find in your literature search.
This is a simplified version of the matrix presented in Health sciences literature review made easy: the matrix method (J. Garrard; 2017), available online from the UC Berkeley Library.
You can use software like Zotero (etc.) or Excel for organizing your literature search as well.
Save your search strategies:
Nearly all the databases you use to find articles, etc., retain your search history. Literature reviews, like epidemiological research, should be rigorous and reproducible. Save or print your search history to help document your search strategy, which will include:
Using PubMed's Clipboard and My NCBI can help with both saving your search strategy and the citations you find. See links on the PubMed Tips Guide.