Referencing Software

Kathleen Steeves; Alice Cavanaugh; Blair Wilson; Andrea Cole

1 Referencing Software

By: Blair Wilson

Reference Software Usability Matrix

Many graduate students use a referencing software to keep track of the literature they are using in their thesis work. Many such programs can be downloaded onto your computer for free, and are beneficial for organization, collaboration, and easily keeping track of sources both within and between texts. This matrix illustrates the usability of several major reference software programs. Usability measures include: collaboration, availability features, utility, open-source features, and multi-platform interface capacity. Based on this assessment, Mendeley appears to outperform other reference software on most of matrices below.

LEGEND

Integrative Engagement & Collaboration – is the degree to which the application can be used to engage peers or engage in knowledge exchange social media engagement and sharing with peers. For example, Mendeley can be used on most operating systems and has greater capacity for knowledge exchange.

Open Source Features – is the degree to which the reference software is freely available and/or has free as well as subscriber features. For example, Refworks is only available through a university student email.

Multi-Platform Interface – is the degree to which the application can be used across platforms such as the operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) web, desktop interface, and mobile apps.

Literature Organizing Database – the amount of available storage and citation styles as well as the ability to annotate articles, capture text from word docs., and/or, PDF docs.