There are tools available to students to help organize citations, build works cited pages, and share references.

Citation Software

Citation software helps you to:

  • import citations from your favorite databases and websites.
  • build and organize bibliographies.
  • automatically format citations for papers.
  • take notes on articles and save them in your collection of citations.
  • easily share references.
  • save and organize PDFs, screenshots, graphs, images, and other files for your research.

There are many tools to choose from. Which one is right for you? Some things to think about:

  • What programs are your colleagues using? For example, if fellow researchers are all using Zotero to share citations, you might consider Zotero so that you can share your research, too.
  • Use what you like! There is no one perfect program, so use what you’re comfortable with.
  • You can use more than one software. Records can be transferred from one program to another, so don’t feel limited to choosing only one.

Find more information on two of the major software options here:

Citation Generators

Citation generators allow the user to enter resource information and create a one-time citation to copy and paste.

Options

The examples listed below work for MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian citation styles. Note, these are not always foolproof ! Be sure to know your citation style and proofread carefully.

Citation Software Comparison

This is a comparison of three of the most popular citation programs. There are many more programs designed to accomplish the same thing; Wikipedia provides a great page on options here.