Don't start your project without some kind of application to manage your references, PDFs, and citations while you gather information and write up your thesis. There are many different tools available, some licensed by Harvard, some available through a freemium model, and some you'll have to pay for. The Countway doesn't recommend any one particular tool, since that will depend on the kind of research you're doing and your personal research style. We do, however, provide support for several tools, all of which will get the job done for you. All of the following managers will work with your word processor to efficiently produce well-formatted bibliographies. Harvard Library has produced a detailed comparison of several, but there are more listed below.
- EndNote
EndNote is the most powerful, flexible, and feature-rich reference manager and is in widespread use at Harvard. Must be purchased by most Harvard users (FAS affiliates check here). Individual student licenses purchased through OnTheHub are about $120. More information
- Sciwheel (formerly known as F1000Workspace)
Licensed for all Harvard users, Sciwheel is a platform designed to help biology and medical researchers discover and collect literature, manage references and prepare manuscripts and other texts. The Web-based system is designed to facilitate collaboration throughout all phases of a project. More information
- Zotero
Zotero is a free research and reference manager that works with Firefox to harvest citation information from Web pages. Of course it works well with traditional references, it's especially useful for those working with reports and Web-formatted documents. Limited storage can be boosted by paying a fee. More information
- Mendeley
Also free, Mendeley combines a research and reference managers with social-networking and collaborative functions. The desktop manager is functional but limited. Features an easy to use citation manager that works with Word. Like Zotero, limited storage can be boosted by paying a fee.
- Papers
Really a specialized Web browser, Papers automatically harvests metadata for the material you're reading and files it with the PDF. There is a built-in search tool that works well with PubMed, Google Scholar and other databases. The citation manager is light wieght and slick. Papers is not licensed at Harvard and must be purchased. A student discount is available.
- Paperpile
Paperpile is a simple easy to use Web-app that integrates with GoogleDocs. Licensed by HMS Information Technology, Paperpile is available to anyone with an HMS/HSDM email address. More information
