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Citation Management Tools: EndNote, Zotero & Mendeley

Citation Management Tools
EndNote, Zotero & Mendeley

Citation management tools can help you organize and access the works you read in your research.

There are pros and cons to any tool, so consider which one will work best with your own needs and habits.

Please note that Stevens does not currently have an institutional subscription to a citation manager, so you can decide for yourself which tool you like best and will be able to continue using it after you've graduated.

Click the logos for more info on each program, and see below for a slide deck presenting an overview of these tools.

Citation
Manager

Zotero

Zotero

Mendeley logo

Mendeley

EndNote basic

Cost

Basic account with some storage for free, and fees are incurred for greater storage capacity.

Basic account with some storage for free, and fees are incurred for greater storage capacity. EndNote basic is available for free; EndNote Desktop is available to purchase.

Access

Free desktop version syncs with your online library. Free desktop version (Reference Manager) syncs with your online library. EndNote basic is web-only.

Storage
(basic accounts)

300 MB

2GB 2GB

Citation Styles

Find and download new styles if yours is not included.

Find and download new styles if yours is not included. EndNote basic includes 21 citation styles but does not allow for importing new ones.

Group Work

Create a group library online (zotero.org) for use in your online and desktop library.

Create groups through Reference Manager to share references with others. EndNote basic only provides citations, not the full article, but others in your group can contribute citations too.

Database
Integration

 Zotero, being independent, doesn't integrate with a database but does provide an easy way to import a reference through the browser plug-in that lets you press a button on your browser to import whatever it is you're looking at, from a database or on the web.

Scopus and ScienceDirect allow you to easily save references to Mendeley (all three are owned by the publisher Elsevier). EndNote basic directly links to Web of Science (both owned by the same company, Clarivate Analytics), while EBSCO databases also provide a means to export a reference right to EndNote. 

LaTeX

Can export references to BibTex for use with LaTeX.

Can export references to BibTex for use with LaTeX. Can export references to BibTex for use with LaTeX.