Citation Management Tools
Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but any are easier than doing it by hand!
Zotero: A free plug-in that works exclusively with the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service.
RefWorks - free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies. Use the RefWorks New User Form to sign up. Refworks Help is pretty good.
How to link from the Refworks record to a pdf on your hard drive
Exporting from OskiCat to Refworks
EndNote: may be purchased from UC Berkeley's Software Central. The Library's Guide to EndNote. And more Tips from EndNote.
It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.
Zotero Tips
If you've never used Zotero before, use the QuickStart Guide to get started.
Change your preferences if you want Zotero to
- set your default citation style
- search the full text of pdfs you save
- Automatically attach associated PDFs and other files when saving items
To use Zotero to find specific articles in our library's databases, set up the Open URL resolver with this link: http://ucelinks.cdlib.org:8888/sfx_local?
An in-depth discussion of the relative virtues of Endnote and Zotero,
Off-campus access to library resources
You can access UCB Library resources from off campus or via your laptop or other mobile device using one of two simple methods:
Proxy Server
After you make a one-time change in your web browser settings, the proxy server will ask you to log in with a CalNet ID or Library PIN when you click on the link to a licensed resource. See the setup instructions, FAQ, and Troubleshooting pages to configure your browser.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
After you install and run the VPN "client" software on your computer, you can log in with a CalNet ID to establish a secure connection with the campus network.
Google Research Tools
Google Scholar is an easy way to do interdisciplinary research, and with some settings changes can become even more useful. You may need a Google account to use some of these features.
- Set up Google Scholar to display links to full text of articles that Berkeley subscribes to:
Open Scholar. Click on scholar preferences [upper right corner]. Under Library Links, enter the word Berkeley. Choose UC Berkeley eLinks and Open WorldCat - Library Search and Save your preferences. UC e-links will now appear in Google Scholar search results.
- Set up a Google Scholar Alert to be automatically notified when new articles are added to Google on topics of interest:
Do your search in Google Scholar. Look in the green toolbar for the envelope icon, and click it. New items will be sent to your email account as they are found by Google.
- Ever wanted to trace an article’s impact? Google now permits searching within citing articles.
Do a Google Scholar search. Click on the "Cited by" link under a citation and select the "Search within articles citing..." checkbox.
