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Overview of Bibliographic Software at MIT

Comparison of Bibliographic Software at MIT

EndNote at MIT

RefWorks at MIT

Zotero Bibliographic Software at MIT

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Overview of Bibliographic Software at MIT

What is bibliographic software?

Bibliographic software (also called "citation managers" or "reference managers") helps users to:

  • import citations from your favorite databases and websites.
  • build and organize bibliographies.
  • format citations for papers.
  • take notes on articles and save them in your collection of citations.
  • save and organize pdfs, screenshots, graphs, images, and other files for your research.

 

Which program is right for you?

The MIT Libraries support EndNote, RefWorks, and Zotero. How do you know which program is right for you? Some things to think about when you choose:

  • What programs are your colleagues using? For example, if fellow researchers are all using RefWorks to share citations, you might consider RefWorks so that you can share your research, too.
  • Use what you like! There is no one perfect program, so use what you're comfortable with.
  • You can use more than one software. Records can be transferred from one program to another, so don't feel limited to choosing only one.

 

EndNote

RefWorks

Zotero

Strengths?

  • Excellent for organizing citations for papers and theses
  • Best option for major research projects, because it offers the most options for customization and formatting
  • Most widely used product at MIT
  • Most output styles for formatting
  • Most customizable
  • Allows users to share citations
  • Good for organizing citations for papers
  • Web-based
  • Since MIT has a site license, there's no cost
  • Simple download of records
  • Good for managing a variety of formats, including webpages
  • Offers most functionality in a free, open-source product
  • Downloads records from with several databases that don't work with EndNote and RefWorks, including Factiva and USPTO

Cost?

Must purchase client software, available at MIT Coop; web version free for MIT

Free via MIT license. See the RefWorks guide for information on how to register.

Free; open-source Firefox 2.0 extension. Download Firefox, then download Zotero. Also works with Netscape Navigator 9.0 and Flock.
Learning curve? Takes longer to learn, but not difficult with training Fairly quick to learn; many online user guides and demos Quick to learn; simple design, many online user guides and demos
For more information, see the complete table for comparison of bibliographic software at MIT.

 

Need more help?

If you need help selecting a product, or if you have questions or comments about using these products in conjunction with library-supported resources, please use Ask Us!.

 
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