Religious Studies

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.

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.

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