Kirsop Labs

Using a Reference Manager

You need to use a Reference Manager if you want to produce a professional piece of work. This is not to be confused with a scientific database such as SciFinder, Google Scholar, Web of Knowledge etc.  A Reference Manager is a place to organise and store your references/papers/articles once you download them from your database search.

Please allow yourself time to learn how to use one of the many free options available. My recommendation is to use Mendeley – free software which means you can access your library on any computer, anywhere, and you won’t be restricted by your host institution’s licensing laws. Think about that when you finally leave university because you’ll want to take your library with you. But that’s not the only open-source software available.  You could also try Zotero, or ReadCube – see which one you prefer. They’ll all make your academic life much, much easier.

As a brief introduction, here’s a link to a presentation on what a good Reference Manager can do for you, along with some useful links.

Reference Managers
by Dr Vicki Ronaldson (University of Edinburgh Alumni)
Mendeley Getting Started Guide
Mendeley Support