Finding, Researching, and Using Primary Resources

Citation Formats

Different citation formats are used by different academic disciplines. Professors will often require a particular format, but if they have no preference these guidelines may be helpful:

APA - psychology, education, and other social sciences
MLA - literature, arts, and humanities
Turabian - designed for college students to use with all subjects
Chicago - used with all subjects in the "real world" by books, magazines, newspapers and other non-scholarly publications

Citation Management Tools

EndNote Web
Endnote Web is a scaled-down version of EndNote that comes with the library's subscription to Web of Science. Sign up via Clarivate
Mendeley
Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that helps you manage, discover and share the latest research.
RefWorks (ProQuest)
A subscription tool that helps you manage, share and cite your sources. All UC Merced students, faculty and staff can create a RefWorks account.
Zotero
An open source app and browser extension that helps you gather, organize, analyze and share sources.

Not sure which one to use?

Choosing a Citation Management Tool
by Elizabeth McMunn-Tetangco Last Updated Mar 6, 2025 10 views this year