Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products.
Reference management (RM) software is widely used by researchers in the health and natural sciences. Librarians are often called upon to provide support for these products. The present study compares four prominent RMs: CiteULike, RefWorks, Mendeley, and Zotero, in terms of features offered and the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Alberta Library
2011-09-01
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| Series: | Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship |
| Online Access: | https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/istl/index.php/istl/article/view/1521 |
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| author | Ron Gilmour Laura Cobus-Kuo |
| author_facet | Ron Gilmour Laura Cobus-Kuo |
| author_sort | Ron Gilmour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Reference management (RM) software is widely used by researchers in the health and natural sciences. Librarians are often called upon to provide support for these products. The present study compares four prominent RMs: CiteULike, RefWorks, Mendeley, and Zotero, in terms of features offered and the accuracy of the bibliographies that they generate. To test importing and data management features, fourteen references from seven bibliographic databases were imported into each RM, using automated features whenever possible. To test citation accuracy, bibliographies of these references were generated in five different styles. The authors found that RefWorks generated the most accurate citations. The other RMs offered contrasting strengths: CiteULike in simplicity and social networking, Zotero in ease of automated importing, and Mendeley in PDF management. Ultimately, the choice of an RM should reflect the user's needs and work habits.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4aef8c07ab074b8392d6d97b97d7c4e0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1092-1206 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2011-09-01 |
| publisher | University of Alberta Library |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship |
| spelling | doaj-art-4aef8c07ab074b8392d6d97b97d7c4e02025-08-20T02:47:14ZengUniversity of Alberta LibraryIssues in Science and Technology Librarianship1092-12062011-09-016610.29173/istl1521Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products.Ron GilmourLaura Cobus-Kuo Reference management (RM) software is widely used by researchers in the health and natural sciences. Librarians are often called upon to provide support for these products. The present study compares four prominent RMs: CiteULike, RefWorks, Mendeley, and Zotero, in terms of features offered and the accuracy of the bibliographies that they generate. To test importing and data management features, fourteen references from seven bibliographic databases were imported into each RM, using automated features whenever possible. To test citation accuracy, bibliographies of these references were generated in five different styles. The authors found that RefWorks generated the most accurate citations. The other RMs offered contrasting strengths: CiteULike in simplicity and social networking, Zotero in ease of automated importing, and Mendeley in PDF management. Ultimately, the choice of an RM should reflect the user's needs and work habits. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/istl/index.php/istl/article/view/1521 |
| spellingShingle | Ron Gilmour Laura Cobus-Kuo Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship |
| title | Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products. |
| title_full | Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products. |
| title_fullStr | Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products. |
| title_short | Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products. |
| title_sort | reference management software a comparative analysis of four products |
| url | https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/istl/index.php/istl/article/view/1521 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rongilmour referencemanagementsoftwareacomparativeanalysisoffourproducts AT lauracobuskuo referencemanagementsoftwareacomparativeanalysisoffourproducts |