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MSE 480: MSE Senior Capstone

Searching for technical literature related to Materials Science and Engineering

What are Citation Managers & Why Should I Use One?

Citation Managers allow you to track and manage sources for your research. With this type of software you can:

  • Easily cite your sources - most come with a plugin that allows you to insert citations into documents as you write, then automatically creates the references list.
  • Create a personal library references and citations by importing citation information from indexes, databases, the Library's Catalog, and websites
  • Organize your references in folders and project groups
  • Some Citation Managers allow you to:
    • Share citations with other researchers
    • Add notes, save quotations, add tags, or attach files to your records

When doing research, if you accumulate a lot of citations and sources, and you need to keep track of them, a Citation Manager is a good option.

BSU Library recommends that you use one of 3 open access citation managers:

Where to get help

As you begin to use Citation Managers, you may find you have questions or need some help.  Contact your Librarian! You can find my contact info on the Start Here part of this guide in the left navigation bar.  Or you may find one of the following guides helpful:

Help with Citations

There are a few great sources for help with basic citation styles. They don't cover all of the citation styles out there, but they're great for the most common styles: