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Latin American & Caribbean Studies

A research guide compiling research resources on Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Why are citations important?

Academic papers are conversations between multiple authors; we agree with, refute, and challenge the ideas of other scholars. Responsible scholarship dictates that we properly credit scholars with their work when it is mentioned - enter citations.

Citations are for transparency and access. In addition to proving that you've done your due diligence as an academic, citations let readers know what you've read and where they can access a source you've used.

Citation Management

One of the challenges of doing research is keeping track of your citations. The library provides access to a number of tools to help you manage your resources. Below is a quick overview of three Citation Management systems. A more detailed comparison and instructions on how to use these are described in detail in the bibliographic management guide.

Citation Management Software

What is citation management software? 

Citation management software (aka bibliographic management software ) allows users to build, organize, and manage citations. 

What does citation management software do? 

  • Import records from article databases and create bibliographies almost instantaneously 

  • Add abstracts, keywords, and other functions that enhance and improve the efficiency of projects 

  • Allows users to collaborate on shared projects 

  • Allows users to embed footnotes and endnotes in documents 

Users should still:  

  • Manually double check the bibliography or reference list 

  • Check for errors or omissions from the database from which references were retrieved 

Bibliographic Management Tools Comparison

 

EndNote

http://endnote.com/

Zotero

http://www.zotero.org/

Mendeley

http://www.mendeley.com/

Mobile Access EndNote Web has a mobile version. Login with your email and EndNote Web password. Third Party Mobile Apps

iPhone & iPad Apps

Android Apps

Type Desktop client and browser extension for Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera Desktop client and browser extension for Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari Desktop client and browser extension for Firefox, Chrome and Safari

Cost*

This may change, for the most up to date pricing, please check the website.

Free: 2GB storage 

(EndNote Basic)

One time purchase of $149.95 through the ThinkEDU online store

Free: 300 MB storage

$20/year: 2 GB storage

$60/year: 6 GB storage

$120/year: Unlimited storage

Other storage plans

Free: 2GB storage

$4.99/month: 5GB storage
$9.99/month: 10GB storage
$14.99/month: unlimited

Strengths

Numerous output styles     

Highly customizable

Can handle a large amount of references

Good for major research projects because it has the most options for customization and formatting

Excellent for organizing citation

Download of records is easy

Good for managing a variety of formats, including webpages

Downloads records for some databases that don’t work with Endnote and RefWorks such as Factiva

Manage PDFs

Share citations and documents

Social aspect, see what others are reading or citing

Pulls metadata from PDFs

Learning Curve Higher Learning curve Quick to learn, simple design Quick to learn, simple design