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Referencing software

EndNote is a commercial reference management software package, used to manage bibliographies and references when writing essays and articles. It is accessible through Web of Science.

Find it:
Search online databases, collect full-text articles and auto-complete your references. Click here for more information about searching online resources within EndNote.

Store it:
Organise, store and mark up your research files in any way that works for you. Click here for more information on organising your references.

Create it:
Use the built-in bibliography maker to create and format citations in 5,000 styles. Click here for more information on creating and formatting bibliographies.

Share it:
Collaborate online within your own team and within the global research community. Click here for more information on sharing.

See how EndNote is a faster, easier way to manage research, references and bibliographies. With unique features to maximise your time like automatically finding full text and updating records, EndNote lets you spend less time in the details. Whether you're on your desktop, online or iPad.

Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organise your research, collaborate with others online, and discover the latest research.

  • Automatically generate bibliographies
  • Collaborate easily with other researchers online
  • Easily import papers from other research software
  • Find relevant papers based on what you're reading
  • Access your papers from anywhere online
  • Read papers on the go

Getting started: this guide will provide you with the basics ot get you up and running fast.

10 simple rules for responsible referencing

  1. Include relevant citations. "Citations identify where ideas have come from, and consulting the cited works allows readers of your text to study them more closely, as well as to evaluate whether your use of them is appropriate."
  2. Read the publications you cite. "The only way to identify whether its content is relevant as support for your claim is to read it in full."
  3. Cite in accordance with content. "This may mean that you need to cite a single source multiple times throughout your own argument, including explanations or indications why."
  4. Cite transparently, not neutrally. "Ask yourself why you are citing prior work and which value you are attributing to it, and whether the answers to these questions are accessible to your readers."
  5. Cite yourself when required. "...self-citation serves an important function by showing incremental iterative advancement of your work...The amount of acceptable self-citation is very likely to differ between fields..."
  6. Prioritise the citations you include. "Many journals have restrictions on the number of references authors are allowed to include." Read the article linked below for tips on prioritising citations.
  7. Evaluate citations as the choices that they are. "The choice to include or exclude a reference can only be evaluated in the context of that narrative and the role they play in it." 
  8. Evaluate citations in their rhetorical context. "Citations are a part of the social fabric of science in the sense that through citing specific sources, authors show their allegiance to schools of thought, communities, or, in the context of scientific controversies, which paradigm they consider themselves part of."
  9. Evaluate citations as framed communication. "All messages and texts contain and require a frame—a structure of definitions and assumptions that help organise coherence, connections, and, ultimately, meaning—or in other words, a perspective on reality."
  10. Accept that citation cultures differ across boundaries. "The average number of citations per paper differs between disciplines, and the way that citations are represented in the text and the value of being cited also differ radically."

Source: Penders B (2018) Ten simple rules for responsible referencing. PLoS Comput Biol 14(4): e1006036. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006036

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