Today I will be discussing about factors to consider when making a choice of the Reference Management Software to use. They are commonly referred to as Reference Management Softwares, Reference Managers, Citation Managers, Bibliography Managers etc. These are web tools or standalone desktop applications used to collect, organize, cite, and share research either as an individual, a group or as a company. In the past, researchers had to manually search for articles, keep notes of the cited articles for references, manually generate and format bibliographies and collaborative research was difficult. With technological advancement and the advent of Reference Managers, all these aforementioned tasks can now be done more conveniently with ease, efficiency and it is time saving.

There are many Reference Managers available and one is spoiled for choice. Factors that determine ones choice of a Reference Management Software include:

Ease of use: some researchers prefer Reference Managers with a relatively less steeper learning curve and easy to setup and use.

Recommendation: It is also most likely that some will go for a Reference Manager recommended by friends and colleagues. This ensures they have someone readily available and willing to guide them through the initial setup and use.

Collaboration: Researchers tend to work in groups as collaborators. They are thus most likely to adopt the use of a Reference Management Software that will facilitate collaborative research and is being using by other group memebers.

Cost: This is a very importatnt factor in the choice of a Reference Manager. Some Reference Management Softwares offer free services, free application and usage for basic functionality and features (which in most cases is more than adequate), while others charge a premium for their use.

Features: while most Reference Managers have basically thesame features, some stand out of the pack, as they are more feature rich.

Type of Reference Management Software: Some reference managers are web applications alone, some others have stand alone desktop installations while others have both web application interface and standalone desktop installations. Furthermore, there are various softwares for Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems.

Community Support and Documentation: People would generally go for Reference Managers with large community support and detailed documentation. This helps to ensure they have answers to challenges they may encounter while using the Citation managers.

Mobility: In addition to having either or both a web tool and standalone Desktop installers, some Reference Management Softwares also have mobile applications for Android or iOS devices. This offers mobility of use to its users, as they can work on the go using their mobile devices.

The above are some of the factors that may inform your choice of a Reference Management Software. Do share your experiences by using the comment box. Thanks for reading.

Source:

https://www.edutechtainment.com.ng/content/how-choose-reference-management-software-use

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