Citation Management Software
Eventually your research will require that you keep track of many citations on any given topic. At that point, you should consider using a citation management software to help you format and organize your references.
Which one should you use?
There are lots of programs on the market, both free and subscription-based. You may already be using one and not realize it. Do you use CiteULike, BibMe or Zotero? Those are examples of free web-based citation managers. You can check with your department to see if they pay for access to any specific software. Otherwise, any other fee-based program that you might prefer to use will need to be purchased from a retailer.
For a detailed comparison of the various programs on the market such as RefWorks, EndNote, Reference Manager or Zotero, click here.
EndNote is frequently favored by researchers in the basic and biomedical sciences. Unlike RefWorks, the data you collect is stored on your computer's hard drive. Since the software must be purchased, you know that you won't lose access to your data if you move to an institution that does not subscribe to EndNote. In addition to organizing citations, EndNote will also format your entire paper for you! Feel free to contact me for more information regarding using EndNote.