Referencing Software

This page tells you about EndNote and RefWorks, and some other free software for managing references.

EndNote

EndNote is a bibliographic software package which will enable you to:

• organise, store and manage your references
• create bibliographies for research papers and theses automatically
• import references from databases and library catalogues directly into EndNote (e.g Web of Science)

How do I get the software?

The software is usually available from your university - click here to go to the supplier's site.

How do I find out how EndNote works?

• Download the EndNote X Tip Sheets, provided by EndNote - click here to go to the supplier's site.
• For more in-depth information, consult the supplier's manual - the Library holds lending and reference copies of manuals for EndNote, shelf mark 010.420285 END. You can also access a PDF of the latest manual on your hard drive within the EndNote programme folders or at: http://www.endnote.com/support/helpdocs/EndNoteXWinManual.pdf

What is RefWorks?

RefWorks is a Web-based bibliography and database manager that allows users to create their own personal database by importing references from text files or online databases. You can use these references in writing your papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds. RefWorks allows you to:

• organise, store and manage your references
• create bibliographies for research papers and theses automatically
• search certain databases directly from within RefWorks (e.g. library catalogues, PubMed)
  

How do I access it?

Access is available via the RefWorks website. If you cannot get this through your university then you can subscribe to the service as an individual from the RefWorks website for $100 a year. RefWorks is compatible with the following web browsers; Internet Explorer Version 5.0 and later, Netscape Version 4.7 and later, and the following word processors; Word for Windows 97 and later, Word for Mac 98 and later.

How do I find out how RefWorks works?

• Download the RefWorks Quick Start Guide, provided by Refworks.
• For further information on importing data, and citation styles, use the supplier's site - go to the RefWorks Help Topics page, then scroll down to find the relevant links.

Alternatively there are a number of free services which offer similar functionality. Most of them do not have the same integration with databases as RefWorks, and they tend to have a more limited number of output styles. Some of them also offer you the ability to tag your references with your own keywords and some social networking functionality, so you can see who else has saved your references and what else they have saved. Examples are:

• CiteULike
• Connotea

You will need to sign up for a free account with these.

Bibliographic software enables you to store and manage your references electronically and automatically generate bibliographies in a variety of styles.

Other bibliographic management software:

There are a number of free services which offer similar functionality to those above:

• Zotero - a free bibliographic software extension for users of the Firefox browser. Features include automatic capture of information from websites, formatted citation export, integration with Microsoft Word.
• CiteULike - a free social bookmarking service to help academics to share, store, and organise the academic papers they are reading. It specialises in academic papers.
• Connotea - free reference management service, designed specifically for scientists and clinicians. Features include import and exports in RIS format some automatic data capture - works best with scientific sites.
• BibSonomy - is a free social bookmarking service, enabling exporting in a variety of formats and feeds.
• JabRef - is an open source bibliography reference manager that interfaces with bibsonomy but can also be used stand-alone.