SSTP: Citing Your Sources

Research ethics are of particular importance in the fields of medicine, health, science, and engineering! For information on plagiarism and the University of Florida's code of ethics, visit our Responsible Conduct of Research guide.

"On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."

Read more about the UF Honor Pledge.

To cite your references properly, you must track the following information for all your resources:

Padilla, PB, & Nogales M. (2009). Behavior of Kestrels Feeding on Frugivorious Lizards: Implications for Food Dispersal. Behavioral Ecology, 20(4), 872-877 DOI (if applicable)

• Author(s)
• Year
• Article Title
• Journal Title
• Volume & Issue
• Pages
• DOI
  

The Citation Management guide describes several software tools you may use.

All Citation Management Software allow you to collect, organize, and format citations but there are important differences among the different types.

Which citation management tool is right for you? Here is a summary - see also the full comparison chart.

1. RefWorks is web-based for easy access from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection. Importing from databases is typically easy and many databases have a direct export option. Additionally, RefWorks provides the Write-N-Cite plugin so you can cite references from your RefWorks library in MS Word while you write. RefShare allows you to share citations with research partners or the public.
2. EndNote Web is web-based and is a simplified version of EndNote.  It has the ability to work in tandem with EndNote, as well as be a stand-alone system.  The downsides are  a 10,000 citation limit, it doesn't support attachments, or provide the ability to edit citation styles.

Additional system:

Mendeley is web-based and has the ability to add citations in MS Word.  Has a cool drag-n-drop feature with pdf attachments and allows you to share your citations in a social network. The downside is you are not able to edit citation styles. While we do not teach Mendeley, it is a popular and available system.

Zotero is a very easy-to-use open source tool. The program lives right in your browser! Using Zotero, it is especially easy to capture and save citations found on webpages, and to add notes and other information to saved citations for efficient and creative organization. Zotero also offers a plugin for MS Word so you can cite while you write. The downside is you are not able to edit citation styles.