Researchers

Citations

How Do I Choose a Citation Manager?

Citation management (aka reference management) tools enable you to:

Import citations from databases, catalogs, PDFs etc., often through a browser plug-in
Store and organize references and/or PDFs in either a desktop or online account
Find duplicate citations; add notes or annotate your citations
Create bibliographies and in-text citations in Word and sometimes Google Docs using different citation styles
Share your digital library and collaborate with colleagues

With so many different types of citation managers, how do you decide which one is right for you? Below you will find a comparison between several citation management tools. If you would like more information on which one to use for your project, contact us via the Ask Us service.

Zotero

Cost: Free to all

Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, browser add-on

Strengths:

Freely available to all; can continue using it if you leave UVA
Good option for collecting many types of literature, including web resources, through direct import or browser plug-in
Can easily import PDFs automatically
Easy to share citations with other users
Support available at the Health Sciences Library

Weaknesses:

Limited free storage space (300MB)
No dedicated tech support (help is through online forums)

Sciwheel

Cost: Licensed to anyone affiliated with UVA

Platform: Web-based

Strengths:

Web-based, so very portable
No storage limit
Additional features like article recommendations
Automatically removes duplicates
Sciwheel provides online support and troubleshooting
Support also available at the Health Sciences Library

Weaknesses:

Subscription-based, so full functionality will be lost if UVA cancels subscription. Free Basic version would still be available.

EndNote Desktop

Cost: EndNote 20, a $249.95 one-time purchase price for faculty and staff. There is a discounted price for students of $115 - see http://www.cavaliercomputers.com/endnote to purchase a licensed copy.

Platform: Windows, Mac

Strengths:

Good option for major research projects; can handle a large number of references
7000+ predefined bibliographic formatting styles and ability to create styles
Sharing options for your citations ("libraries") with up to 100 people
Can configure to retrieve PDFs
Dedicated customer support staff

Weaknesses:

Requires purchase
Browser plug-in to import citations from articles or other Web documents is available, but has limited functionality
Learning curve to utilize EndNote's full functionality

EndNote Web (also known as EndNote Basic or EndNote Online)

Cost: Free, and, while you are at UVA, EndNote Basic accounts have additional features due to our Web of Science subscription. See this comparison chart.

Platform: Web-based

Strengths:

Web-based, so can be accessed from any computer
Storage capacity since UVA subscribes to Web of Science

Weaknesses:

Very limited citation styles available
Browser plug-in to import citations from articles or other Web documents is available, but has limited functionality
Limited capabilities compared to EndNote Desktop

Mendeley

Cost: Freely available to all, with upgrades available (additional storage space)

Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux; has a Web syncing option

Strengths:

Designed as a PDF manager (ability to create a citation from PDF)
Social networking capabilities, find researchers in your field
Easily share citations with other users

Weaknesses:

Need to check on the accuracy of citation information
Free version has limited storage space for PDFs
No database search from within the program
Lack of dedicated tech support

Help

Guidance for UVA Health faculty, staff, and students is available by appointment:

Help with choosing the right citation manager for you
Basic guidance on citation management features and getting started (for Zotero and Sciwheel only)

Just Ask Us via the link at left - we are happy to provide help via email, phone, or in-person.

Researchers

Researchers

Citations

How Do I Choose a Citation Manager?

​Zotero

Sciwheel

EndNote Desktop

EndNote Web (also known as EndNote Basic or EndNote Online)

Mendeley

Help

Zotero