Save time, stay organized: Citation strategies for graduate writing

In a recent Grad15 webinar, ASU librarian Matthew Ogborn introduced graduate students to citation management tools and offered practical strategies for integrating them into academic research. The session emphasized time-saving, collaboration, and accuracy in managing citations and bibliographies—core skills for graduate-level writing and research.

Ogborn began by explaining the benefits of citation managers, which help users save, organize, and automatically format references in thousands of styles. These tools streamline inserting in-text citations and generating bibliographies, significantly reducing manual work. They also support collaboration by allowing researchers to share PDFs and notes within private groups—especially useful when working across institutions.

The ASU Library recommends three main citation managers: Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote.

• Zotero is free, open-source, and maintained by a nonprofit. It integrates with Word and Google Docs, supports easy switching between citation styles, and includes an active user community and detailed documentation. Zotero offers 300 MB of free storage, with paid upgrades available.
   
• Mendeley, owned by Elsevier, functions similarly but provides 2 GB of free storage. It integrates with Word but not Google Docs. Its closed ecosystem makes troubleshooting harder, though it remains popular in many fields.
   
• EndNote, a paid option (about $150 for students), is common in STEM and health sciences. It offers robust functionality but differs enough from the others that ASU librarians refer complex EndNote queries to specialists.
   

Ogborn also encouraged students to beware of freemium models—some tools offer limited free use but require paid subscriptions for full functionality—and to choose tools that align with their discipline and collaborators. Psychology students, for example, typically use APA, while humanities researchers may prefer Chicago style. Since citation managers can automatically convert between styles, students can adapt easily when preparing publications.

In addition to citation managers, Ogborn recommended installing the ASU Library Access browser extension, which authenticates users to access full-text research materials directly from library or publisher websites. He also highlighted ASU’s Ask a Librarian service, citation management guide, and Library 501 tutorial for graduate students.

Finally, he addressed common student concerns: verifying citations generated by AI tools, syncing libraries across multiple devices, and organizing notes. He reminded participants that while AI can assist with preliminary exploration, citation managers ensure accuracy and credibility.

Overall, Ogborn’s key takeaway was clear: adopt a citation manager early, choose one that fits your workflow, and take advantage of ASU’s library resources to build efficient, ethical research practices.