There are many reference management packages to choose from, but not all are available free of charge. Two free options are Zotero and Mendeley. We recommend Zotero, and this is the software on which we offer training via our Study Skills Live sessions. Students are, however, welcome to use Mendeley, and we can provide some informal support with this.
The table below shows a side-by-side comparison of the two reference managers.
Please note that neither the desktop version of Zotero, nor Mendeley Reference Manager, work with Chromebook devices. It may be possible to install Zotero using Linux, but this is not something with which the library can provide technical support.
| |
Mendeley |
Zotero |
| Cost |
Free |
Free |
| Desktop or online application |
Online |
Desktop and online |
| Operating systems |
Windows
Mac
Linux
|
Windows
Mac
Linux
|
| Word processor compatibility |
MS Word
LibreOffice
BibTex
|
MS Word
LibreOffice
BibTex
|
| Cite Them Right Harvard referencing style |
Yes |
Yes |
| Other referencing styles |
8000+ |
9000+ |
| Captures references from webpages |
Yes |
Yes |
| Captures references from barcodes |
No |
iPhone/iPad only |
| Mobile app |
No |
iOS only; Android in beta test with limited spaces |
| Automatic syncing across devices |
No |
Yes |
| Free (syncing) pdf storage |
2GB |
300MB |
| Free (syncing) reference storage |
2GB |
300MB |
| PDF annotation |
Yes |
Yes |
| Sharing |
Yes |
Yes |
| Extra features |
Article recommender |
Retraction alert
Library lookup
|
| Deduplication option |
Yes |
Yes |
