Software for bibliographies

[comp12]

I'm concluded that, facing the daunting task of locating, compiling, and organizing diverse sources (not just print but also audio, etc) for research projects lasting multiple years, I'd probably be wise to come up with better systems of retaining my information than simply pasting my citations into a word doc. I know that there are software that do this, but I haven't tried any, and I'm wondering if others have. I also know that people of decades past even did pretty well with good old cabinet filing systems. What do people here at GC do?

[Dal PhDer]

I am like you...I have traditionally used word for all my references..I have recently gotten into Mendeley. I REALLY like it. I have tried Endnote and RefWorks before and haven't been impressed...but Mendeley does everything that i need! It's hosts the articles so I can access them anywhere. I can review/read/annotate documents. It's great!

[mandarin.orange]

I'm a fan of Zotero. Namely: it's free!

That said, the extent of my references have been journal articles, books, websites, press articles, special reports, field trip guides. No audio or visual material, so I can't speak to that.

[kyjin]

I used Zotero in undergrad, and now I use RefWorks as its what my university recommends. I really like it, and I can auto-fill in all fields with a link from the library. I'd check out what your library offers in terms of reference systems; they probably will recommend a good one as well.

[Eigen]

I'm a proponent of Endnote, mostly because it's stable with good customer support, and really, really wide compatibility. Also by far the largest database of citation styles, and it's really easy to modify them. But that might not be as big of an issue for other disciplines- every paper is a different style for us, so being able to just select and go is great.

I have friends who use RefWorks, as well as Mendeley, but I just haven't been too impressed.

Besides, all my references are in Endnote, and it works flawlessly, so I have no drive to change.

Also works great between Mac and PC for me, and I can keep my library in Dropbox for easy syncing. I've got about 500 references, many with multiple attached files, and it's stable and quick. And I'm using X2, I understand it's improved considerably since.

[comp12]

Good recommendations, everyone!

[Panama Slim]

Does anyone any updates to these recommendations?

[beyondaboundary]

I write in Scrivener, which I recommend highly, and compile in Zotero which integrates smoothly in both stand alone and browser add on configurations. Perfect for seamless referencing of online sources.

http://literatureandlatte.com/

[callista]

I use http://www.citeulike.org at work, but plan to use Endnote when I have access to it.

[gatorgrad]

I like RefWorks, but Son of Citation Machine works in a pinch, too! You just have to copy and paste them one by one, but it finds citations from all over the web, and they're very accurate.

[juilletmercredi]

I have an unnatural hatred for EndNote.  Most people at my uni use it, but it irritates me.  I love Zotero because of the ease of adding new citations and the ease of putting citations into Word.

[sweetpearl16]

I also love Zotero as well. It was invaluable while trying to compile my bibliography for my thesis.