Citation/Bibliographic Management Tools  

Citation management software allows a user to organize citations for various kinds of materials - such as books, articles, government reports, websites, and so forth - and to categorize them based on groupings they find useful.  Typically, citation management software will work directly with library databases to export content into the software.  Once the citations are loaded into the software, the user can then make notations or edit the citation as needed.  When writing, citation management often allows you to input citations into your work and will format them automatically based on which citation style you have chosen. Most will also allow you to make global style changes with a click of a button, for instance you could write your citations in MLA and then have the software convert them to APA.

The most important thing to remember with citation management software is that it is not perfect.  Using such software does not mean you can skip learning about citation styles.  The software is only as good as the information you provide, so you must make sure all the citations you input, whether manually or downloaded from a database, are put in the way the software requires. For example, EndNote requires special attention to capitalization so that when you switch between citation styles, the software can make the appropriate changes to capitalization. If you do not set up your citations correctly, the software will not be able to format your citations properly.