WRI 101-10 (Webb, Fall 2023)

A bibliographic citation manager will format citations for you in the format you choose, help you create in-line citations, and generate bibliographies or "works cited" lists for your papers. Citation managers can be a real gift when you're pressed for time, or when you have a lot of citations to manage.

The UCM Library supports three citation managers: RefWorks, Zotero, and Mendeley. "Support" means that these are the three citation managers with which all of the librarians are familiar. We've created guides for each of them, we offer workshops on their use, and we can help you with any questions you may have. We may not know much about EasyBib or other citation managers.

Choosing a Citation Management Tool by Elizabeth McMunn-Tetangco

Manage Your Research with RefWorks by Sara Davidson Squibb

Using Zotero to Manage Your Research by Elizabeth McMungg-Tetangco

RefWorks is an online tool for managing and citing your references. 

With RefWorks you can

• add and organize reference information (aka citation information).
• save and annotate files (e.g. PDF of an article) associated with each reference.
• cite references in a citation style of your choice.
• write in Word or Google docs and create citations along the way. 
• collaborate on a project or share references with peers & colleagues.

RefWorks is provided by the UC Merced Library to all UC Merced students, faculty and staff. 

Create an account to get started. 

Zotero is a free, open source citation management tool. You can use it to collect, organize, and cite your research. It can also synchronize your data across devices.

ZoteroBib is a new Zotero tool that helps you make quick bibliographies.

Why Zotero?

• Zotero is free, and features an online community that can often help with questions.
• Zotero saves your citation library locally. While it will let you sync your citations through the cloud, you'll need to adjust your settings on every computer. If you mostly use one computer, Zotero is a great option.
• You don't need to be online to use Zotero.
• Zotero is easy to use.

Mendeley is a free citation manager with web and desktop platforms. Mendeley users can sign up for a free account with 2GB of web space or purchases a premium plan to access more space and sharing/collaboration options. With Mendeley, you can:

• Build a library of citations from library databases and websites
• Search and import references and datasets from the Mendeley crowd-sourced catalog
• Store, organize and share references
• Annotate documents; record and share notes with collaborators 
• Create in-text citations and bibliographies using nearly 7,000 citation styles