EndNote: Alternative Reference Management Tools

Introduction to Library support for EndNote Desktop and EndNote Online.

Introduction

Currently UCD provides students and staff with access to EndNote 20, EndNote 21 and EndNote Online. UCD Library provides training each version.

There are many similar programmes for managing references. Some offer additional features that might be more suitable for your workflow, other programmes might be more popular with your peers. There are programmes that are freely available (at least for a basic version), others charge an annual fee or you can purchase them as a standalone application.

Below are some of the more popular alternatives. We have listed the most prominent features and limitations. For a comprehensive comparison you can visit one of the websites in the Comparisons box.

Note: We feel that our users should be informed about alternative reference manager programmes. UCD Library does not provide any support for installation, use or other queries.

Alternative Reference Management Software

EndNote basic is a free, basic version of EndNote Online, provided by Thomson Reuters. For a full comparison between the basic and the full version check out the EndNote website.

Free
Same look and feel as EndNote Online full version, but
Limited reference storage (50,000 references vs. Unlimited)
Limited attachment storage (2 GB vs. Unlimited)
Limited number of bibliographic formatting styles (21 vs. 6,000+)
Limited number of searchable online databases (5 vs. 6,000+)
Suitable for small projects or to maintain previous collection after graduating from UCD
As a Thomson Reuters product EndNote Basic integrates very well with Web of Science

Mendeley is another free application for managing references. It was first released in 2008 and is now part of Elsevier’s product palette. Mendeley is very popular with LaTex users.

UCD Microsoft Office users should be aware that there is a new IT Services policy in place which blocks 3rd party applications from integrating with UCD provided software. This affects the component of Mendeley which provides integration with Microsoft Word, if the copy of MS Office/Word has been provided by UCD

Desktop and Web version (can be sync’d), iPad and iPhone apps
2 GB of free cloud storage, additional storage can be purchased for a monthly fee
Enables collaboration in public or private groups
Unless set to Private, a Mendeley library can be seen by other users. Therefore the service is also a discovering tool.
Allows users to upload personal profiles, publication list etc.
Bookmarklet allows import of references from databases
Integrated PDF reader allows annotations within the programme; capture of quotations
Bibliographies must be generated separately and copied to text document
Limited number of document types
As an Elsevier product Mendeley integrates very well with ScienceDirect

Zotero is a free open-source application for managing references. It was first released in 2006 and is developed by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Standalone and Web version (can be sync’d) or Firefox extension; no mobile apps, but mobile version
300 MB of free cloud storage, additional storage can be purchased for an annual fee
Enables collaboration in public or private groups
Allows to add notes independently from any reference
Icon in URL allows import of references from databases (Firefox); bookmarklet allows import of references from databases (Safari, Chrome)
Allows to save and annotate websites
Timeline view
Attached PFDs open in external reader

This is just a selection. More can be found listed in a number of comparison tables (see box to the left).