Reference management software helps you collect, organise, and cite your sources.
It keeps your research tidy and saves time by automatically generating references and bibliographies.
🔹You can:
Important: Please note that various referencing management software have not yet updated to Cite Them Right Harvard 13th Edition. When still using the 12th Edition, the main difference is to remove the 'Place of publication' field for your book references to more closely match the latest edition.
Using reference software can help you:
✅ Keep references in one place – no more losing sources
✅ Create citations and bibliographies instantly in your required style
✅ Work with others on shared research projects or group assignments
✅ Write faster – insert citations directly into Word or Google Docs
✅ Stay organised – tag and group sources by topic, project, or course
🎓 Especially useful for dissertations, long essays, and collaborative projects.
There are two types of tools:
Ideal for: quick citations or short assignments.
No need to sign up or download anything — but not suitable for long-term use.
Ideal for: dissertations, extended projects, and researchers who need to store and organise lots of references.
➡️ [Compare Zotero and Mendeley – see table below]
| Consideration | Zotero | Mendeley |
|---|---|---|
| Do you need to install it? | Yes – Zotero requires a desktop app, but you can sync across devices and access your library via the web too. | Yes – Mendeley also has a desktop app, and a web version. Setup is very similar. |
| How user-friendly is it? | Interface can feel a bit less modern at first. It's completely open-source, so not as slick – but powerful once you get used to it. | Sleek and more polished look. Some users find it more intuitive at first glance. |
| How well does it handle duplicates? | Very good – Zotero makes it easy to review, compare, and merge duplicates. | Also detects duplicates, but merging is slightly less streamlined. |
| Does your subject area matter? | Widely used across Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Law. Good at handling varied sources and complex citation styles. Law users: see note 1 on Juris-M. | Often preferred in STEM and health sciences. Includes tools for managing PDFs of scientific papers and integrates with some scientific databases. |
| Do you need group work features? | Strong collaboration via shared libraries, especially useful for teaching or co-authoring. | Also supports shared libraries; more focus on sharing PDFs within academic networks. |
| Do you like automation? | Focuses on transparency and user control. Fewer behind-the-scenes recommendations. | Owned by Elsevier, offers features like recommended articles and auto-suggestions (some find this helpful, others prefer more control). |
1 Juris-M is a variant of Zotero specifically designed for legal research, offering enhanced support for legal citation styles and multilingual materials. For more information, visit Juris-M Project.
📌 If you're still unsure, try both Zotero and Mendeley – they're free and quick to install.