Q. What is citation management? What software options are available?

Reference management tools allow you to gather, manage, store, and share research.  They also work with Microsoft Word to help you create in-text citations and easy bibliographies in a variety of different citation styles. 

AHS currently supports three citation management programs:

1) EndNote

a) EndNote Basic (preferred option)

This web-based tool offers a paired down version of the full Endnote program. This is likely to meet most staff needs around saving references and creating bibliographies and is the one we'd recommend for most standard research projects. If you'd like to cite documents or create bibliographies in Word with this web-based tool, you can request the Word add-in from IT via a Standard Software request (select Endnote Plug-in (Word), from the software dropdown).
KRS offers an online introductory education session to walk you through the basics.

b) EndNote 20 (approval required) 
This is a desktop-based licensed tool that is made available to groups/individuals in AHS with supporting business case, where other reference managers (like Endnote Basic, Mendeley, or Zotero) do not meet the business need. It is of particular value to those undertaking complex research projects with extensive literature requirements such as scoping reviews or systematic reviews. This can be requested through the Service Hub with a valid business case. Please note that personal licenses of Endnote cannot be installed on AHS devices, nor licenses purchased outside of AHS.

2) Mendeley Desktop is a free desktop-based tool, suitable for individual research or for teams.  Requests for Mendeley Desktop can be made through the Service Hub via a Standard Software request. 

3) Zotero is another free desktop-based tool, suitable for individual research or for teams. It is known for its ability to manage web-citations and it is easier to source full-text documents from the KRS collection. Requests for Zotero can be made through the Service Hub via a Standard Software request.

If you would like to know more about citation management software, visit your KRS site, or email us at krs@ahs.ca.

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