Zotero or Bust
I’ve had it with EndNote. I’ve transferred all my references to Zotero and plan to use it as my main bibliographic organiser. Zotero operates on the Firefox browser and seems light and versatile in comparison, particularly in referencing Web-based content – I was never convinced with EndNote Web. Developed in George Mason University, Zotero seems to be gaining recognition and support across the academic world, and successfully survived a threatened lawsuit with Thomson Scientific. I never got the hang of Endnote’s Cite-While-You-Write, but apparently, Zotero has a similar feature which I need to try out as, at present, I am manually creating my references.
I’ve had it with EndNote. I’ve transferred all my references to Zotero and plan to use it as my main bibliographic organiser. Zotero operates on the Firefox browser and seems light and versatile in comparison, particularly in referencing Web-based content – I was never convinced with EndNote Web. Developed at George Mason University, Zotero seems to be gaining recognition and support across the academic world, and successfully survived a threatened lawsuit with Thomson Scientific. I never got the hang of Endnote’s Cite-While-You-Write, but apparently, Zotero has a similar feature which I need to try out as, at present, I am creating my references manually.
Tags: research tools
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I have used all three. I had technological problems with End Note and my license ran out, so now I don’t have access to any of my references. I actually use Delicious for most of my references as I can access them ANYWHERE. The problem is print materials and integrating the resources into the paper itself. However, I feel I won’t lose my resources because they are on the web rather than my computer.
I have had some problems with Zotero of late with the interaction with the new Firefox version. It just has not worked as well. However, my kids and I do use it (and the Word add on) when writing papers. You need to do a little more maneuvering with print based references which can be a pain, especially since vista has a similar feature for creating a reference database that can be integrated within the word document. I know last year they spoke about developing a web based depository (like delicious) but I haven’t seen it. This would be the best to use because then you could upload references using different computers and access the information from multiple computers.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Shame that you feel that way about EndNote Web, since it creates the ability to access and use your references from anywhere around the world. It’s also very easy to transfer referencesd between your Desktop and Online library, done in a single click. Especially the CWYW plugin can be a huge timesaver since it automatically formats your bibliography for you in any style you want. If you want to know more about using EndNote Web, you can see a post on my Blog, or follow a tutorial to see just how easy it works.
November 26th, 2009 at 10:48 am
I was also nonplussed about EndNote Web, which is why I switched to Zotero. Zotero 2.0 synchronizes references via the web so that all of your computers hold an updated copy of your library (and you can access your library online too). Also note that Zotero’s word processor plugin offers the same functionality as CWYW, but with broader compatibility: they support Open Office just as well as to MS Word.
November 26th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Oh, and also: Virginia, it’s a shame EndNote locks up your data like that. If you still have the .enl file, though, I could help you import your library into Zotero.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:37 am
Just a quick note to mention Mendeley, a free reference management tool which backs your library up to the web and offers cite-while-you-write , but also organizes your PDFs, as well.
March 1st, 2010 at 9:24 am
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