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The maximum amount of citations that can be exported from Google Scholar into a citation manager at a time is 20 citations. It is recommended that you use a web capturing tool. The following resources were recommended from a 2017 webinar.
Citation Managers are tools that will help you keep your citations organized and create bibliographies in APA, AMA, or other formats. Take a look at the chart below to compare features between citation managers like EndNote, RefWorks, and Zotero.
The following are all bibliographic/citation management programs that allow you to build your own library of citations, organize & share your citations, build reference lists, format papers with in-text citations, and more. This is just a handful of citation managers available.
| Characteristics | RefWorks | EndNote (desktop) | Zotero |
| Strengths |
Many databases include direct exporting features to it. Good tech support.
|
Excellent for organizing citations for papers and theses. Good customer support. Highly customizable.
Note: There are other versions of EndNote, including EndNote Web and EndNote Basic. Please see the comparison chart for more details. |
Simple download of records. Good for managing a variety of formats, including web pages. Easily share citations and documents with others. |
| Weaknesses |
Metadata may need to be cleaned up. Platform can be unstable. |
Expensive. Learning curve may be greater than others. Has different versions which have significant differences. |
Must pay for additional storage. |
| Type | Web interface | Desktop software; also has a free web interface, EndNote Web. | Desktop software and browser add-on. |
| Cost | Free (library subscribes) |
Discounted version available through the UIC Webstore. EndNote Basic is free, but isn't as robust. |
Free with 300 MB of storage. Additional storage and group upgrades are available for a fee. |
| Learning curve | Quick to learn; simple design. | Takes longer to learn, but not difficult with training. | Quick to learn; simple design. Many online user guides and demos. |
| How does it work? | Export references from compatible databases; also has browser plugin to save from the web. | Export references from compatible databases. Can also search databases within EndNote | Zotero detects bibliographic information on the web and allows you to save it. |
| What kind of records can you import and organize? |
Best with traditional formats (articles, books, etc.). PDFs and other file types can also be stored in records. |
Best with traditional formats (articles, books, etc.). PDFs and other file types can be stored with records. |
Traditional formats as well as web pages. PDFs, screenshots, and other file types can be stored with records. |
| Can you search within PDF files? | Yes. | Yes, but search isn't intuitive. | Yes. Make PDFs searchable by choosing to index them in the preferences menu. |
| Are records in your library viewable by others? | Yes; you can share folders within an institution or create a public URL. | Yes. Starting in version X6, EndNote libraries can be shared with other users. EndNote Online can also be synced to the desktop version for sharing citations. | Yes, if you choose to share them. You can set up individual and group profiles to share records. |
| Does it work with word processing software? | Yes. Includes add-in for Word and Google Docs. Two options, depending on software: Write-n-Cite or RefWorks Citation Manager (RCM). | Yes. Powerful formatting and customization features in Word through Cite While You Write; also works with Google Docs, LaTeX through BibTeX, and Open Office. | Yes. Works with Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs. Also works with LaTeX through BibTeX. |
| Can you annotate PDFs? | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Other important features | Has a "find full-text" option to download full-text for records (when the library has access). | Has a "find full-text" option to download full-text for records (when the library has access). Starting in version X7, PDFs can be uploaded into EndNote from a folder on your computer. |
Can be used for collaborative work with groups. Will automatically attach PDFs. If you back up records, you can sync multiple computers. |
| Does it have a mobile site or app? | No. | Yes; an iPad app | Yes, a mobile site through zotero.org. There's also an iPad app called ZotPad. |
| Link to vendor support/documentation. | RefWorks support | EndNote support | Zotero support |