Reference Management
Does the following sound familiar? You are writing a research paper and want to cite relevant literature, but key references are missing. Or you are about to submit a journal article and aren't sure which citation rules to follow.
In these cases, reference management programmes can be a real lifesaver. They help you to collect, organise and process your references. They make it easier to cite accurately and create correct bibliographies – for student assignments, book projects and everything in between.
It can save a lot of hassle and redundant work if you familiarise yourself with a reference management programme before you find yourself in the middle of a writing project.
If you use Citavi, Zotero or Mendeley, we offer workshops, self-learning courses and support. You can find more information on our pages for the programmes in question.
The University Library has a campus licence for Citavi. This means that all members of the university (students and staff) can use the full range of the programme while they are at the university. Staff can get their work computers set up with the necessary programmes on request.
Please note that the use of add-ins that allow you to link reference management programmes to MS Word and to integrate references directly into your text is currently not possible with the current MS 365 version if you use MS 365 through the university. You will either have to revert to Word 2019 or use a different word processor such as LibreOffice.
In addition to the three tools we recommend at Leuphana, there are a large number of alternatives. With so many programmes on the market, choosing one is not easy. However, there are comparisons that can help you decide:
- Reference Management Software Comparison (2022, Technical University of Munich, University Library)
- compares 8 programmes
- overview and overall rating at the end of the document
- Comparison of Reference Management Systems (2021, SLUB Dresden)
- compares 5 programmes
- overview and overall rating at the end of the document
- Comparison of Reference Management Software (en.Wikipedia)
- compares 16 programmes (as of Oct. 2024)
- extensive criteria
The colleagues from the Information Literacy team are happy to help with any individual questions and problems regarding the programmes we support and with general questions about how to use reference management programmes. The direct email address for enquiries is: literaturverwaltung@leuphana.de