Subject Guides: Evidence Based Practice: Organising

Reference Managers to Save, Read, Annotate, and Cite research papers

Mendeley in a Nutshell

Mendeley Web - http://www.mendeley.com/

Product details	Reference Manager– online Web Importer Mendeley Cite - via your SIT Microsoft 365 account
Installation	Mendeley Guides Register for a free account Download the Reference Manager Download the Web Importer Install Mendeley Cite
Storage	Free version - 2GB cloud storage Institutional License - 100GB cloud storage (login while ON campus for auto access)
Saving citations / references	Mendeley Web Importer Guide Web Importer Add citations manually Save PDFs, text files, webpages, and book/article citations from websites, Google Scholar, and Library databases
Duplicates	See Mendeley Guide
PDF handling	Mendeley Reference Manager Guide PDFs can be saved and read from your Mendeley Library PDFs can be annotated and highlighted Saving PDFs with the Web Importer has been disabled in some databases, e.g. in Science Direct. Download each PDF separately and drag into your Reference Manager Library
Citation styles	Mendeley Choosing and Changing Citation Style Guide 7,000+ styles add styles with Mendeley Cite create custom styles with Citation Style Language editor and Mendeley Cite
In Text citations and Bibliographies	SIT Mendeley Cite Guide Mendeley Cite Mendeley Cite in Microsoft Word
*LaTex support**	citations can be exported in BibTeX (*.bib) format for use with a LaTeX document
Organising	Library - all citations are saved into the Library which is organised into: All References Recently Added – in the past 30 days Recently Read – in the last 30 days Favorites – select the star to add a citation to your favorites My Publications – auto-populated Trash – citations will remain here until you empty the trash bin Collections - used to organise the citations in the Library into categories Search option for quick retrieval of your references Filter option for authors and tags
Support	Mendeley Guides Mendeley Support Center – linked to your Mendeley account Library support – Library@SingaporeTech.edu.sg
Points to note	Logging in with an SIT email address has caused problems in the past Not optimized for iPhone or iPad Android apps have been discontinued Mendeley cannot read .nbib files, e.g. from PubMed. Use JabRef or BibTex to save as .ris

*LaTeX notes

LaTeX is free, open source typesetting software used to prepare scientific documents for communication and publication. Unlike conventional word processors, e.g. Microsoft Word, where what you see as you are typing or inserting is what you get, LaTeX uses source code “to create complex technical text layouts and display mathematical expressions and formulas”. Word can be used to create formulas like the ones in the screenshot below, but LaTeX documents are of a higher standard when it comes to complex alignment, spacing, placement, etc.

LaTeX example formatting

Kitora, S., Jinno, S., Toki, H., & Abe, M. (2021). Relation of Integro-Partial differential equations with delay effect based on the Maxwell equations to the Heaviside and Pocklington equations. IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, 63(4), 1223-1230. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEMC.2020.3032788

Please note that Mendeley is to be used ONLY to manage papers that you have sourced for your own personal research. You may not share or upload any of these sourced papers with anyone else, or the SIT Library will have to report the infraction. If in doubt, please read the Mendeley Terms of Use https://www.mendeley.com/terms/

Zotero in a Nutshell

Zotero Web & Desktop - https://www.zotero.org/

Product details	Zotero – desktop and online Zotero Connector Various optional Plugins - e.g. Citation Counts Manager
Installation	Zotero Documentation Register for a free account Download Zotero - Mac / Windows Download the Zotero Connector Install the Zotero word processor plugins
Storage	Unlimited Desktop storage (if you do not sync your Zotero account) 300MB free cloud storage
Saving citations / references	Adding Items to Zotero Documentation Zotero Connector Add citations manually Save PDFs, text files, webpages, and book/article citations from websites, Google Scholar, and Library databases When saving a web page, a snapshot image of that page can also be saved – see Adding Items to Zotero
Duplicates	Automatically detects duplicates
PDF handling	Adding Items to Zotero Documentation PDFs can be saved and read from your Zotero Library PDFs can be annotated and highlighted
Citation styles	Citation Styles Documentation 7,000+ styles add styles from the Zotero Style Repository create custom styles with Citation Style Language editor
In Text citations and Bibliographies	Zotero word processor plugins links and documentation)
*LaTex support**	citations can be exported in BibTeX (.bib) format for use with a LaTeX document BibTeX can also be auto-synced to automatically update the .bib file when new citations are added
Organising	Library - all citations are saved into the Library (desktop) or Web Library (online) which is organised into: Collections and Subcollections – used to organise the citations in the Library into categories My Publications – you need to populate this collection yourself Duplicate Items – desktop only Unfiled Items – desktop only Trash – citations will remain here until you empty the trash bin Search option for quick retrieval of your references, includes tags in the search
Support	Zotero Documentation Support Forum Library support – Library@SingaporeTech.edu.sg

*LaTeX notes

LaTeX example formatting

The Importance of Organising

Your Librarians would recommend the use of a reference manager for a number of reasons:

Saves Time
- It automates the organization, formatting, and generation of citations and bibliographies, reducing manual effort.
Improves Organization
- You can organize and categorize sources systematically, making it easier to retrieve and review research materials.
Facilitates Collaboration
- Tools like Zotero and Mendeley allow you to share references with peers during group projects.
Supports Academic Integrity
- By properly citing sources, reference managers help you avoid plagiarism.
Integrates with Writing
- Many reference managers integrate seamlessly with word processors, streamlining the writing process.