The University provides a set of study skills guides. These include information about plagiarism and referencing.

Our Bodleian iSkills workshop Referencing: choosing and using software introduces the main features of reference management tools and considers the issues to think about when choosing software. View the introductory presentation from the workshop below and book a place at our next workshop to try out six different software tools for yourself.

Prefer text?  The information in the video is summarized in the text boxes below

Reference management software, also known as citation management software, allows you to:

• collect references
• store references in a web account or on your desktop
• organise references
• add notes to your references
• link to full text, web pages and documents
• cite your references and create bibliographies

Some also have additional features such as:

• sharing your references and collaboration tools
• PDF highlighting
• social networking

For a comparison of the pros and cons and of the features of some of the most common reference managers, see the comparison table. For more detailed information about these reference managers, including sources of help and training, refer to their individual tabs at the top of this page. 

You may also find it helpful to test different reference managers to see which one you prefer working with. Particular things you will want to consider when choosing your reference manager are:

1. Accessibility - desktop, web-based or web browser extension
2. Is the citation/reference style you need to use available?
3. Is the software compatible with the word processor you use?
4. If you want to share your references with colleagues, what do they use?

If you're having an issue with a reference management tool, please email us at the address below. Please give us as much information as you can, particularly:

• Your Department/Faculty or subject area
• The reference management tool or software you are using (RefWorks, EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero etc.)
• The operating system of the machine you are using (Windows 10, Mac OS X Mountain Lion etc.)
• The browser you are using (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari etc.)
• The word processor you are using (Word, Pages etc.)

Contact us at reference-management@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

You can now import references from SOLO into virtually any reference manager. SOLO offers dedicated export options for RefWorks and EndNote online, but can now also export an RIS formatted text file which is compatible with many different reference managers.

To use the RIS, EndNote online or RefWorks export options -

1. Locate the full record in SOLO for the item you wish to export.

2. Under 'Export options' select the export option you wish to use (RefWorks, EndNote or RIS).