Reference management: Introduction

Reference management is systematically collecting and organising concrete sources and/or the bibliographic data ('references') of sources, usually to (re)use them at a later time.

Reference management tools help you in collecting and organising references.

Good reference management results in a more effective and efficient workflow.

• Do you use the tool for a specific purpose (e.g. Systematic review)?
• Do you want a free to use (open source) tool or one that is licensed by your institution?
• Which tools do your peers use?
• Which text editor do you use (MS Word, LibreOffice, Google docs, Kile, Lyx, …)?
• What storage space do you need for PDFs?

If you have questions regarding reference management, please contact the University Library.

There are more tools for managing your references
Below you will find the major characteristics of the four most well-known systems.

Whatever tool you select, you are not stuck with it forever. However, switching to another tool can cause some problems.

You can simply transfer your references to another system. But in the case of PDFs, notes and map structure you may enter some problems. It is advisable not to change from reference tool while working on a large paper or book. There is a big chance you will have to start again with including your literature references in the text.

EndNote licenced by UU and UMCU combination of desktop programme and online platform very suitable for processing large numbers of references and deduplicating (for instance for systematic reviews) very suitable for adding full text and the updating of references options for sharing your references with others add-in for MS Word,Google Docs, LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice unlimited storage for PDFs. because of the many options it takes more time to familiarise yourself with the use of Endnote more about Endnote
RefWorks The Refworks license for UU and UMCU will end by December 31st 2025! We advise you to use another reference manager.
Zotero free download, open source system with a large community of users and developers. local installation and web based version possible; good synchronisation quick and simple collecting of references from your browser saves reference and PDF from most online systems add-ins for referring for citing in Word, LibreOffice and in Google Docs. limited free storage space for PDFs (300MB) more about Zotero
Mendeley free download (non-institutional version) good options to make notes on (and in) publications. sufficient free storage capacity (2GB) Mendeley Reference Manager does not have a reliable, transparent way to deduplicate. We therefore advise against using Mendeley in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. In that case, choose another reference manager more about Mendeley

The four major uses:

1. Collecting and storing the bibliographical data of your sources
2. Consulting your sources: via a saved PDF, or via clicking through to an external full text
3. Referring to sources in your own text (citing)
4. Having reading lists created

Useful help functions:

• Deduplicating 
• Organising in folders
• Labelling with tags
• Sharing with others

Tip 1. Always check if your references are imported correctly and completely in your reference tool. The sooner the better!

Incomplete references, or references in which the data are in the wrong place, result in inconsistencies or downright errors in your bibliography.

Tip 2. Remove duplicates before you start writing and citing

Use of duplicates lead to double entries in the bibliography.

Check how to deduplicate under the tabs for each system. (Please note: in Mendeley Reference Manager it is not (yet) possible to deduplicate)