A citation management system is a tool designed to make your work easier!
There are many great features to a citation management system:
| EndNote | Mendeley | Zotero | |
| Vendor | Clarivate | Elsevier | Open Source |
| Strengths |
Unlimited Storage Space Can edit and create customs citation styles within the desktop program |
Sharing capabilities include public and private groups Crowd sourced database and individual paper recommendations |
Connector tool allows for easy reference information capture Captures website snapshots |
| Word Processor Capability | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Share Resources With Others | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social Network | No | Yes | Yes |
| Operating System Support | Mac, Windows, iOs app | Linux, Mac, Windows, iOs app, Android app | Linux, Mac, Windows, Zotero for Mobile |
| Cost |
Free to Pitt students and faculty via Pitt IT. Available to Pitt staff at a reduced cost. |
Free (extra cost for upgraded storage) |
Free (extra cost for upgraded storage) |
| Storage | Unlimited | 2 GB | 300 MB |
​Mendeley is a reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research, collaborate with others online, and discover the latest research.
Use Mendeley to:
Use Mendeley Desktop on the device you use most often; log in to Mendeley Web from any other device with internet access and sync your work to your Desktop account!
To learn more about Mendeley web and desktop component please see Mendeley @ Pitt
Mendeley -- Get started by creating a free Mendeley Web account using your University of Pittsburgh email account and downloading the software from the Mendeley website.
When you have located a title or titles you would like to add to Mendeley from a database or catalog search:
EndNote is a popular reference management program.
You can use it to:
Use EndNote Desktop on the device you use most often; log in to EndNote Web from any other device with internet access and sync your work to your Desktop account!
To learn more about EndNote, please visit the EndNote @ Pitt guide
Downloading EndNote Desktop
EndNote is available to Pitt students and faculty for free through the Software Download Service at My Pitt. The site gives detailed instructions on the download process.
Export references into EndNote from a database or other resource. Many databases and online resources offer an option to export references directly into EndNote, or an option to save to a general citation manager. Either option will work.
Zotero (pronounced "zoh-TAIR-oh") is an application that collects, manages, and cites research sources. It's easy to use, connects with your web browser to download sources, and best of all it's free.
Zotero will allow you to:
Collect books, articles, videos, etc, and have them all in one location
Easily create citations from databases and PittCat
Tag your citations for greater searchability
Attach PDFs, notes and images to your citations
Enter citations and bibliographies, in many formats (MLA, Chicago, APA, etc.)
Create in-text citations
Share your research and references with a group
Download and install Zotero from the Zotero website.
(There's a different version for each operating system: Windows, Mac or Linux.)
Connectors allow your web browser to save citations to your Zotero library.
The Zotero downloads page should automatically detect what browser you're using and give you a link.
Each browser has its own version of the Zotero connector, so if you use Chrome, Firefox and Safari you'll need to install all three.
