Reference management is a process that starts whenever you do any kind of reading, research, or exploration of a topic. You need to keep track of what you need to read, what you might read, and what you have already read. This helps you to keep on track of your reading and also means you have the right information ready for when you need to cite material in your work or create a bibliography or reference list of what you'd read.

• Search and collect references and store them in a library on your desktop or a web account

• Organize references with folders and tags, to sort them by topic/project/author etc.

• Add notes to your references - for example, in order to remind yourself of particular quotes to use.

• Store full text PDFs and links to material with references.

• Cite your references and create bibliographies in your chosen citation style (e.g. Harvard, APA, Vancouver).

• Share your references with others and create collaborative libraries of references.

Citation

A short note recognizing a source of information (i.e., book, paper, especially in a scholarly work. 

A reference to a published or unpublished source (not always the original source). 

References

A list of work cited. 

References should be arranged in alphabetical order, & typed in single space.

Reference management software aids students, research-oriented professionals, and anyone else sourcing others’ material with citing accurately and efficiently. These tools can be for one-time use, where users submit information and receive a full citation, or can act as a secure source repository for long-term projects. Reference management software can serve for more than academic purposes; business presentations or reports can all benefit from being adequately cited. The tool can connect large teams through cloud servers, providing full companies access to trusted resources and articles. Often, reference management tools can integrate with file storage and sharing or document creation tools, or with part of an internet browser. This allows users to save resources as they’re found in the moment instead of struggling to locate them later on. Common features of reference management software include advanced searching, reference libraries, and version history.