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University Library Services

Reference Management Software

A beginners guide to using reference management software

Help guides from the software producers

Zotero 

Further guidance on extras and more in-depth functionality of Zotero is available from Zotero Help page. The guide, produced by the collaborators creating Zotero, has more in-depth guidance on specific databases and the various add-ons.  

Zotero Help Pages 

 

EndNote Online 

There are some pages dedicated to helping those using EndNote Online by the makers of EndNote, and a lot of help on forums and YouTube, which you can find via Google.

EndNote Online Help Pages 

The librarian team are also able to help with common issues. Contact the library team and we can transfer your query to a librarian who will get back to you via your student email.

Troubleshooting

Q: I can't see the EndNote or Zotero menu option in Microsoft Word

Log a job on the University IT Portal if you cannot see the EndNote menu option in Microsoft Word. In addition, Zotero and EndNote are not compatible with using Word Online in a browser.

Q: I'm correcting the references in my essay, but the errors keep coming back. 

You will need to make the changes to the reference in EndNote Online / Zotero, rather than the document. Whilst the document is linked to the reference manager software it will revert back to the data when you click "sync". To correct this:

  1. Find the references in EndNote Online/ Zotero
  2. Correct any errors or add data (extra punctuation, all-caps, information in the wrong fields etc.) and now when you sync your Word document will refresh with the corrections updated

Q: The "EndNote" tab appears in Word but nothing happens when I try and insert a citation

Word may be linked to EndNote Desktop. EndNote Desktop is a related but separate product, to fix this:

  1. Go to the EndNote tab 
  2. Click Preferences
  3. Choose Application: if this is set to ;EndNote’, use the drop-down to change it to 'EndNote Online'
  4. Then enter https://my.endnote.com or http://www.myendnoteweb.com followed by the email address and password you created for EndNote Online
  5. Log a job on the University IT Portal if this doesn't correct the error

Need more troubleshooting help?

Please contact the library, and we will connect you with a staff member experienced in reference management software. As EndNote Online and Zotero are software programs, we may also direct you to the University IT Portal or relevant online resources to help resolve any issues.