The Library’s RefWorks citation manager subscription is about to expire; before August 31, 2019, users will need to export the bibliographies they’ve created in RefWorks to another citation management program. The Library recommends replacing RefWorks with Zotero, Endnote, or Mendeley—all generally used by UVA researchers.
If you haven’t used citation management software before, it’s capable of a lot more than compiling bibliographies. It can automatically format citations within the text of most word processing programs, it collects and saves citations in a personal account, and adds citations automatically from both Virgo records and databases. You can annotate citations, link them to full-text documents, and organize them into folders. The program you choose depends upon your needs, but remember, switching from one platform to another can be tricky.
Zotero is an open-source reference manager that the Library conducts workshops in throughout the year. It’s designed to store, manage, and cite a wide variety of “items” including books, articles, reports, web pages, artwork, films, letters, manuscripts, sound recordings, bills, cases, statutes, and more. Zotero combines the ability of older software to export author, title, and publication fields as formatted references, and the modern ability to organize, tag, and search in advanced ways. It is the only software that can sense the type of resource you are viewing (database article, newspaper story, or library book, for instance) and automatically extract and save complete bibliographic references. With support for over 9,000 citation styles, you can format your work to match any style guide or publication.
EndNote is not open-source and is rather expensive (Cavalier Computers offers a discount), but it allows greater customization of output styles and import filters. Stored data can be accessed without an Internet connection. Some library catalogs and databases, such as Virgo, can be searched directly from within the EndNote interface, and you can connect back to articles using Find@UVa. However, the program’s inability to share libraries and difficulties with switching between computers hamper collaboration in groups.
Mendeley manages citations and also creates a well-managed library of your imported papers. It regularly syncs content between computers and with its web version as well, keeping you always up to date. Mendeley is the most social of citation managers, allowing you to form groups and share resources and citations within your lab, study group, or cohort. It integrates with MS Word for easy insertion of citations and bibliographies.
Caution: Mendeley is a “free” platform, but is owned by for-profit Elsevier. It provides the company with information about users’ research habits, which Elsevier uses to market services and metrics to universities. Researchers concerned about privacy or excessive monetization of research might prefer non-profit alternatives.