Citation Management

There is an old Chinese saying "工于利其事，必先利其器", which could translates to "In order to do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools." It emphasizes the importance of preparation and having the right tools before undertaking any task. The citation management tools might sound like some boring stuff that only scientists would use, but in reality, they're like your personal assistant for anything related to research. If you love science, you'll soon find that there's a mountain of information out there. How do you make sense of it all? No matter what, you got to have one tool, which can not only help you browse the literature database, but also can store/sort/group literatures with their pdf files. Here's why tools like Endnote, Mendeley, and Zotero can be super cool for you:

Treasure Chest: Imagine having a chest where you can store all your findings – PDFs, pictures, audio files, links. Now, imagine you can label everything, sort it out by different topics, and never lose track of that super interesting article you read three months ago at 2 a.m. 

Time Machine: Remember all those times you spent hours trying to format your references for a school project? With these tools, you click a button, and it's done. They do all the hard work, saving you time for more interesting things, like actually reading cool science stuff or experimenting. 

Brain Extension: It's hard to remember every single detail from what you read, right? Well, these tools allow you to highlight parts of articles, add notes, and more. It's like an extension of your brain, helping you remember and understand better.

Exploring the Science Web: The world of science is interconnected, and these tools let you see that web. With citation tracking, you can explore who cited whom and discover new articles related to what you're interested in. It's like a treasure hunt in the kingdom of knowledge!

Getting Ready for the Future: If you're passionate about science, you might consider a career in it, right? Starting to use these tools now will give you a head start. You'll be a pro by the time you get to college, impressing your professors and fellow students.

So, these aren't just boring tools for organizing citations, they are your personal research superheroes! Below is the webpage for Citation Management Tools at Penn Library. Check it out.