The following tables compare reference management software. Researchers using the tables below for comparison in order to evaluate and choose reference management software should note the product's "latest stable release date." An older release date suggests the product is not currently being supported and users may encounter technical issues and little to no technical support.
Video Comparison of reference management software
General
In the "notes" section, there is a difference between:
- web-based, referring to applications that may be installed on a web server (usually requiring MySQL or another database and PHP, Perl, Python, or some other language for web applications)
- a centrally-hosted website
Maps Comparison of reference management software
Operating system support
In the case of web applications, this describes the server OS. For centrally hosted websites that are proprietary, this is not applicable. Any client OS can connect to a web service unless stated otherwise in a footnote.
Export file formats
This table lists the machine-readable file formats that can be exported from reference managers. These are typically used to share data with other reference managers or with other people who use a reference manager. To exchange data from one program to another, the first program must be able to export to a format that the second program may import. Import file formats are in a table below this one.
Import file formats
This table lists the file formats which may be manually imported into the reference managers without needing to connect to one particular database. Many of these database companies use the same name for their file format as they do for their database (including Copac, CSA, ISI, Medline, Ovid, PubMed, and SciFinder). For the ability to retrieve citations from the particular databases (rather than the file format), please refer to the database connectivity table that is below this table.
Citation styles
Reference list file formats
Zotero and Endnote are incompatible with LaTeX. Among other things, both programs do not provide for robust citation keys. Zotero also does not offer automatic generation and updating of bibliography files in select directories.
Word processor integration
Some reference management software include support for automatic embedding and (re)formatting of references in word processing programs. This table lists this type of support for Microsoft Word, Pages, Apache OpenOffice / LibreOffice Writer, the LaTeX editors Kile and LyX, and Google Docs. Other programs are able to scan RTF or other textual formats for inserted placeholders which are subsequently formatted. Most reference management programs support copy/paste or drag-and-drop of references into any editor, but this is not meant here.
Database connectivity
This table lists the academic databases and search engines which reference managers can import from. In some cases, a search and retrieval can be conducted directly in the reference manager. In others, a bookmarklet or Firefox extension will allow a site to be scraped.
Password "protection" and network versions
Some reference managers provide network functionality. (N/A means the product has no networking, while "no" indicates it does (but lacks an implemented feature).)
References
Bibliography
- Gilmour, Ron; Cobus-Kuo, Laura (2011). "Reference Management Software: a Comparative Analysis of Four Products". Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship. Summer 2011. doi:10.5062/F4Z60KZF. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- Perkel, Jeffrey M. (2015-11-02). "Eight ways to clean a digital library". Nature. 527 (7576): 123-124. doi:10.1038/527123a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 26536960. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- Technische Universität München Library (2016-08-04). "Reference Management Software Comparison -- 6th Update" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-09.
- Tramullas, Jesús; Sánchez-Casabón, Ana I.; Garrido-Picazo, Piedad (2015). "Studies and analysis of reference management software: a literature review". El Profesional de la Información. 25 (4): 680-688. doi:10.3145/epi.2015.sep.17. ISSN 1699-2407. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
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