What is Bibliographic Management Software?
Conducting research can be overwhelming. We find sources on the web, in subscription databases, in print journals, in online journals, in books, in e-books, in newspapers ... the list goes on! Bibliographic managers help to organize your research and translate all of these sources into a working bibliography.
This guide takes a closer look at RefWorks and Zotero, two bibliographic managers.
Which Bibliographic Manager Should You Choose?
Here is a comparison chart of the features of both RefWorks and Zotero.
| Feature | RefWorks | Zotero |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Free for Knox people only, including alumni | Free to anyone, but if you need storage > 300 MB there is a cost. |
| Storage location | In the cloud | On your own computer, but you can sync with a server in the cloud, and backup options exist. |
| Browser | Works with any browser | Zotero Connector plugin works with Chrome, Firefox and Safari |
| Citation capture | Works by exporting from database then importing to Refworks; searching a database and capturing references within RefWorks is also available | Works within a browser window |
| Bibliography creation | Easily done | Easily done |
| Word processor compatibility | Requires Write-n-Cite or RefWorks Citation Manager plugin for MS Word; requires RefWorks for Google docs plugin. | Works with MS Word, Google docs via plugin that is included with Zotero Standalone version. |
| Sharing references | Settings allow sharing for read-only, annotate, or modify. Can share with non-RefWorks users. | Sharing is done through creation of Groups. |
| Website capture | Use Save to RefWorks browser plug-in. (Install from the Tools menu in your Refworks account.) | Zotero does this by default |
| Organization capability | Folder management options | Folder management options |