Library Subject Guides
On this page we'll explore what reference management actually means and how reference management applications can help with that process.
Reference management software helps you to keep track of your reading and references and makes it easier to find referencing information to cite material in your work.
Using reference management software can save you time compiling and locating your references, and improves consistency and accuracy. However, it isn't a replacement for checking the accuracy of the references you use or for knowing how your references need to be written to comply with guidelines.
Reference management software allows you to:
Reference management software stores bibliographic information, which is information about any material you read like the title, author, date, publisher, and other details. This bibliographic information is usually obtained from databases and library catalogues or directly from the material (e.g. a website). The bibliographic information is then displayed in the reference management software, creating your own database of material known as a 'library'. You can do things with this information, like organise and cite it, but the key thing to remember is that the software relies on you adding bibliographic information to it.
This guide focuses on four stages of the reference management process: collect, manage, cite, and share.
Reference management is best to get on top of at the start of reading, so you can ensure you keep track of material you read or discover. However, this guide can help at any stage of the process, and you don't have to use reference managers for every part of this process. For example, you may want to use the software to store and manage your references, but manually write your references in your work.
Under Collect you'll find how to gather references in a reference manager from databases, library catalogues, and elsewhere.
The Organise page gives information on sorting your references within the application, putting them into groups and checking for duplicates.
In Cite there is guidance on how to use reference management software with text processors to cite your references when writing.
And finally, Share explains how to collaborate on libraries of references or share certain references with others.
The University of York supports three different reference management applications: EndNote, Zotero, and Paperpile. All of these can be used on University managed PCs and also installed on your own device (though some are limited to whilst you are at the University).
Each section below goes over the key points about the reference manager. See the box below on this page for links to how to obtain and install the applications.
EndNote is a reference manager that has two different versions: EndNote desktop (current version is EndNote 21) and EndNote Web.
EndNote 21 brought in new features to EndNote desktop, such as tags and Google Docs citation, and also a new version of EndNote online only available with an EndNote 21 licence. If you're using an older version, you might find differences to what is mentioned on this guide, though the basic functionality is the same.
EndNote has a full range of features for collecting and organising references, and plugins that allow you to cite EndNote references in MS Word and Google Docs. The desktop application allows for sophisticated searches and is useful for systematic reviews as you can customise fields and store a large number of references.
The online version of EndNote is a more limited version and isn't typically recommended to use on its own. However, it is a very useful way of creating a back up of your EndNote desktop library as you can 'sync' your desktop library with an EndNote account and therefore have it backed up on EndNote's servers. It also means you can access your desktop library remotely from other devices. There is a newer version of EndNote Web that is only available with EndNote 21, which has more features, so you will need to check which version you are using if you haven't used EndNote 21 (but members of the University of York can get a copy of EndNote 21 via the IT Services webpages). Therefore, on this guide you'll see the terms EndNote Web (Basic) and EndNote Web (Premium) to distinguish between these, as this is generally how EndNote themselves refer to these two different versions, but it is also often referred to as EndNote Online.
Key points:
Paperpile is an online reference manager that works in a web browser and can cite with Google Docs or Word using a plugin/browser extension. It currently is only available for the Chrome web browser, but Paperpile is soon bringing the web app (webpage) and browser extension to Safari and Firefox.
If you're trying to easily collect citations and full text PDFs from web pages or cite web pages themselves, then Paperpile is very useful. It stores all PDFs in Google Drive too, which makes them easy to find and access.
Paperpile has plug-ins so you can cite with Google Docs and Microsoft Word. However, the Paperpile Word citation plugin a beta version so features may change or be withdrawn (but it has been around for many years at this point).
The University of York pays for a licence for Paperpile so you can use it whilst at the University. When you leave, you can export your references into another reference management application if you want.
Key points:
Zotero is a free, open source reference manager that offers flexibility due to the fact it can cite in MS Word, Libre Office, and Google Docs.
Zotero is a good general reference manager that offers a range of features for collecting, organsing, and citing. If you're looking for something you can use when you leave the University and which is a free open source tool rather than being owned by a major publisher, then Zotero is a good option. It also works well with the OSCOLA referencing style, so if you use that it can often be the best reference manager to use.
Key points:
Remember, you can export your references out of one reference management application and into another, if you change your mind, the features change, or you leave the University.
At the University of York you can get access to all four of the supported reference management applications in various ways - we recommend you follow the instructions linked below for the application in question to ensure you have the right account and are installing it from the right location.
You can obtain EndNote desktop whilst a member of the University to use on unmanaged and personal devices. The IT Services web pages have information on obtaining EndNote. The current version is EndNote 21.
EndNote is also already installed on University classroom PCs, and you can install EndNote on managed PCs through Software Centre.
For EndNote Web, you have to register on EndNote's website (using a different password than your University one). There are now two versions of EndNote Web, a Premium and Basic version, and you can find out more about how to create these on Alfasoft's EndNote support pages.
To access each one, use the links below:
To ensure you have a University enhanced account (which gives you access to the University styles), you will need to do this on a campus PC or using the Virtual Desktop Service. The IT Services page on EndNote Online has more details (note that this is the same as EndNote Web, it's just that EndNote themselves seem to use both terms interchangeably).
Paperpile works within the Chrome web browser, so as long as you already have that on your device, you don't need to download anything to use Paperpile (unless you want to use the Word plugin). University PCs already have Chrome installed and also have the Word plugin installed.
The University of York pays for a licence for Paperpile so you can use it whilst at the University. To sign up for Paperpile, follow the steps on the IT Services Paperpile page. Note that this process has changed recently, meaning that you don't have to sign up using a Google account, so you will need to ensure you follow those steps to get on the University of York licence.
Paperpile also has mobile apps available for iOS and Android, which you sign into using your Paperpile account once signed up as above. Search in the respective app store for 'paperpile' to find and install the free app.
Zotero is installed on University classroom PCs and can be installed from Software Centre on managed devices. The IT Services web pages have information on obtaining Zotero.
As Zotero is not connected to your University account, you can continue to use it after you leave the University as long as you ensure you change your email address or sign up with a non-University one. We do not have any University licence for Zotero, meaning that we do not have any additioanl features like extra storage space.
This guide covers all of the key areas of reference management and we recommend you work through it first, but you may also want to check out other resources, including the reference management applications' own help pages and our Skills Guides on finding and working with resources.
Below are links to other material we think you might find useful.
This guide previously had content for Mendeley Desktop, which was also found on University computers. However, Mendeley have retired Mendeley Desktop and from 1st September 2022 it will no longer be possible to download Mendeley Desktop. Mendeley's replacement, Mendeley Reference Manager, will not be supported by the University, as it lacks functionality compared to other reference managers and the previous version of Mendeley.
If you want to use a reference manager with more functionality, or you use a footnoted referencing style like Chicago, you can easily move your entire Mendeley library into another reference management application like those listed on this guide. For people using footnoted styles, we'd recommend moving your library to Zotero, which also allows you to insert references in a footnoted style and have the footnotes added.
You can export an RIS file of your Mendeley library and then import this file into another reference manager using the guidance found on the Collect page. For further guidance, see:
If you want to continue to use Mendeley, you will need to move to Mendeley Reference Manager, as Mendeley Desktop will no longer be supported or updated. For help using Mendeley Reference Manager, please contact Mendeley Support.
Now, consider your reference management process, using the following suggested exercises: