Citation Managers in Team Setting
How do you use citation managers in a lab? For those of you entering an already-established lab or research group, often they’re already going to have a citation manager they’ve chosen, and you will adapt to what they have.
For those of you in charge of choosing a new one, we suggest going through this chart with your labmates or faculty member to determine the best product for you. And as always, feel free to ask a librarian for input.
The following citation managers are supported by the University Library and provide the same basic features and functionality with some exceptions.
How many people will be collaborating?
| EndNote X9 | EndNote Web | Mendeley | Zotero |
| Fewest collaborative features. Users can share files or access a shared library via a networked server (one simultaneous user) | Users can share references with other EndNote web users. | The free version of Mendeley only allows 25 group members for private groups. Public groups allow unlimited members. |
Users can create groups and share references with other Zotero users both publicly and privately. |
Will you be accessing this information on multiple computers or locations?
| EndNote X9 | EndNote Web | Mendeley | Zotero |
| Users can sync citations with EndNote Web for easy access across multiple computers. | Entirely web-based so information is easily accessible on any computer with internet. | Users sync and share information via a Mendeley Web account. | Users sync and share information via a Zotero Web account. |
Will you be sharing PDFs and other documents?
| EndNote X9 | EndNote Web | Mendeley | Zotero |
| PDFs, images, charts, graphs, and Word documents can be attached to references. | An unlimited number of PDFs and Word documents can be uploaded and attached. | Unlimited number of attachments in local storage, 2GB of free web storage. | Unlimited number of attachments in local storage, but only 300 MB of free web storage. |
Do you have funding to pay for software or upgraded features?
| EndNote X9 | EndNote Web | Mendeley | Zotero |
| Software must be purchased, but students and faculty get a discount at the UM Computer Showcase Links to an external site.. | Provided through the Library's Web of Science subscription. Free for current student and faculty. |
Free, but users must pay for additional storage and more group features. Plans cost $5 to $274/month. |
Free software, users must pay for additional online storage. Plans cost $20 to $240/year. |