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Using EndNote at Princeton: Citation Management at PU

If you need help with Zotero, see this guide .

What is a Citation?

What is a citation? A citation....

  • describes a book, journal article, website, or other published item
  • gives credit to the originator of an idea, thus preventing plagiarism
  • enables the reader to retrieve the item you refer to
  • includes the author, title, source (publisher and place of publication or URL), and date

A citation manager is a tool which helps you to store, organize and output your citations in the format you prefer.

EndNote vs. RefWorks vs. Zotero—A Comparison of Options for Managing Citations

Which citation tool is right for you? The comparision chart below highlights the main features and differences.

EndNote RefWorks Zotero
General
Access Desktop client software Web-based Desktop software that lives in Firefox web browser
Allows users to share citations No Yes No
Learning curve Takes longer to learn and normally requires training
 Fairly quick to learn Quick to learn
Where are my files stored Locally to your computer Hosted web server Locally to your computer
Word processing integration

Works with Word and with LaTex through BibTex

 Works with Word through Wrint-N-Cite feature and LaTex through BibTex
 Works with Word and Open Office and with LaTex through BibTex and Google Docs
Adding References
Import from online databases Yes Yes Yes
Import web pages Yes Yes Yes
Import from RSS feeds No Yes Yes
Import records from Main Catalog Yes Yes Yes
Import citations from PUL QuickSearch




Managing and maintaining a large citation library (1,000 records plus) EndNote is a good option for maintaining large citation libraries. RefWorks can be slightly more cumbersome for managing large libraries.
 More difficult; takes more time to sort duplicate records and to verify that the records are complete.
Output
How many output styles? Over 1,000 Over 500
Modify and create output styles? Yes Yes No
Can you export your citation library to a different tool? Yes Yes Yes
Strengths

Good for organizing citations for long papers and theses.

Good option for complex major research projects, becuase it offers the most options for customization and formatting.

 

Web-based solution which allows you to access your files from the Internet and does not restrict access to a single workstation.

Allows users to easily share lists of citations.

Good for organizing citations for papers.

 

Simple to download records.

Good for managing a variety of formats including web pages.

Offers the most functionality in a free open-source product.