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Bibliographic Referencing Software

An overview on using Bibliographic Referencing Software

Comparison of referencing software

EndNote

EndNote Online

Mendeley

Zotero

Cost

Macquarie University pays. There is no cost to individual staff and students whilst at MQU

Macquarie University pays. There is no cost to individual staff and students whilst at MQU

Macquarie University pays. There is no cost to individual staff and students whilst at MQU. Basic version is free (costs for upgraded storage apply)

Free. (Costs for upgraded storage apply)

Desktop or Web

Desktop

Web

Desktop & web components

Desktop (can be synced on Zotero server)

Referencing styles

6000+ styles

6000+ styles

6000+ styles

6000+ styles

Direct export

From 50+ databases (including MultiSearch)

Web of Knowledge and EBSCO only

From 50+ databases (including MultiSearch)

100s of web resources

Word processing integration

MS Word and LaTeX using BibTeX files

MS Word

MS Word, LibreOffice, Google docs and LaTeX using BibTeX

MS Word, Open Office and Google docs

Edit citation styles

Yes

No, not individually

Yes, also request new styles from Mendeley or create with CSL Editor

Yes, also request new styles from Zotero or create with CSL Editor

Import from RSS feeds

No

No

Yes

Can use RSS feeds between Zotero libraries

Storage

Only restricted by local storage capacity

Can store 10, 000 records

Desktop version is only restricted by local storage capacity. Online version is 100GB personal and 100GB shared

Unlimited citations, 300MB of attachments for free

Removes duplicates

Easy to identify and remove duplicates

Easy to identify and remove duplicates

Easy to identify and remove duplicates

Hard to remove duplicates

Sharing

No, use Web version

Yes

Yes

Yes

Weaknesses

Patches and updates must be reinstalled. Sometimes difficult to customise

Basic features only. Cannot customise styles. Need internet connection

Patches and updates must be reinstalled for desktop version. Web version requires internet connection

Need to check data quality after importing. Only compatible with Firefox

Overall strengths

Largest number of styles to choose from. Good for large, complex reports

Web based so updates seamlessly and be accessed from any computer

Social networking and collaborative aspects. Can easily share list with other users. Can index PDF files and harvest metadata

Can easily share list with other users. Can index PDF files and harvest metadata

Other comparison links

A number of sites give comparison between the different bibliographic management software programs:

Program links