Writing references can be a time-consuming task. Reference management software can help you format the references correctly and keep them organised. You can manage the references manually, but we strongly recommend you to use a program. If you already use a reference management program and are comfortable with this program you can skip this module.

Basic features found in most reference management programs:

Collect references from databases, library catalogues and the web.
Organise the references in your own library.
Use the references in a text document, such as Word, Google Docs or LaTeX and generate in text-citations and a reference list.

There are also other tools that can generate references, but they don't help you with the in text-citations and might require more manual work.

Please note that there might be errors in references generated by reference management programs. This means you still need to proofread the reference list. The risk of errors is higher for references collected from the web than for references from databases and library catalogues.

Different software

There are many different reference management programs. If you haven't used any software before we recommend Zotero or EndNote in the desktop version.

Zotero

Zotero is a free software that you download to your computer. You can use the software together with Word, Google Docs and Overleaf/LaTeX.

Getting started with Zotero (installing the program and creating an account)

If you haven't yet installed Zotero, this video guide you through the installation process.

View video with transcript in KTH Play

Adding references to Zotero

In this video you will learn about different methods to add references to Zotero; with the web connector, with an unique identifier such as a DOI, from an article in pdf format and from a bibliographic database.

View video with transcipt in KTH Play

Organizing references in Zotero

In this video, you will learn how to organize the references in Zotero using collections. You will also learn how you can make notes and how you can remove duplicates.

View video with transcript in KTH Play

Using Zotero in Word

In this video you will learn how yoy can use Zotero to create in text-citations and a reference list in Word. You will also learn how to choose the reference style you want.

View video with transcript in KTH Play

Using Zotero in Overleaf

In this video you will learn how you can connect Zotero to Overleaf to facilitate reference management .

View video with transcript in KTH Play

EndNote

There are two versions of EndNote, the desktop version and the web version. The desktop version is licensed. There is a campus license at KTH. EndNote desktop works together with Word and Google Docs.

The comprehensive course from Lund University Library will help you get started and use EndNote efficiently.

EndNote 20 Introductory Course