Reference management tools/programs save you time and frustration with any writing project where you are gathering references. They are also useful for monitoring the literature in your field of research, and they make it possible for you to easily share your research.
Reference management tools allow you to:
With so many reference management programs available to us, it can be difficult to decide which one you want to use. This chart highlights some of the features of the more popular tools.
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| Cost | Free | Free | Free |
$3/mo students $5/mo faculty |
| Operating System |
Online |
Desktop software for Windows or Mac; can be synced with web account |
Desktop software for Windows or Mac; or embedded in Firefox |
Online |
| Ease of Use | Easy | Easy | Easy | Moderate |
| Import Citations from Databases |  |
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| Attach PDFs | ||||
| Annotate PDFs | ||||
| Major Citation Styles | |
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| Free Online Storage | 2,000 MB | 2,000 MB | 300 MB | n/a |
| Sharing Options | Share groups | Free for up to 3 people | Create group | Create shared collection |
| Automatically Create Citation from PDF |  |
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| Compatibility | Microsoft Word | Microsoft Word, Open Office | Microsoft Word, Open Office, Google Docs | Microsoft Word, Open Office, Pages |
| Best for... | Ease of use, group work, use if common citation styles | PDF management, academic social networking | Group work, capturing different types of references (websites, etc.) | PDF management, collaboration with other Papers users |