Resource of the Week #3: Free Reference Management Software

Hello! This week I’ll note 2 resources that can help in reference management.

Have you joined the AuthorAID discussion list? If so, you may recall that this week AuthorAID graduate assistant Bernard Appiah asked members what strategies they use to keep track of references while writing journal papers.

Some respondents suggested reference management software such as EndNote, Reference Manager, and RefWorks. With such software, one can build a database of references and produce reference lists in desired formats.

A difficulty, however, is that some researchers can’t afford this software. Conveniently, though, some respondents mentioned free software useful for reference management and related tasks.

In particular, some respondents recommended Zotero, an open-source tool that is used with the Web browser Firefox. And some suggested Mendelay, which describes itself as “a free reference manager and academic social network”.

If you haven’t signed up for AuthorAID’s e-mail discussion list, I encourage you to do so. You can do so when you register for AuthorAID. If you’ve already joined AuthorAID, you can join the discussion list by going to http://dgroups.org/RequestMembership.aspx?c=738c057a-50ef-4f42-9524-bba631927339.

Hoping that many of you will find these resources useful— Barbara