referentiemanagers

Referentiemanagers are software tools designed to help researchers manage bibliographic references and related notes throughout the research process. They store bibliographic records, organize them into collections, and support the automatic creation of citations and bibliographies in a variety of citation styles.

A typical referentiemanager provides import and export capabilities, allowing records to be added from databases, library catalogs, or directly from publishers in formats such as BibTeX, RIS, EndNote XML, or CSL JSON. Each record usually contains metadata fields such as author, title, year, journal or conference, volume and issue, pages, DOI, ISBN, and URL, along with optional notes and attached PDFs or other files. Advanced features include tagging, searching, deduplication, and the ability to attach full texts or annotations.

Workflows often involve gathering sources during literature searches, organizing them into topics or projects, annotating records with notes, and inserting citations into manuscripts. Many referentiemanagers offer plugins or integrations for word processors (such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or LibreOffice) and support for generating in-text citations and bibliographies in numerous citation styles. Cloud-based services enable syncing and collaboration across devices and teams, while desktop applications may offer stronger offline access and data control.

Common examples include Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, and JabRef. Use cases range from individual literature reviews to large-scale systematic reviews and grant applications. Best practices include regular backups, consistent metadata curation, deduplication, and mindful handling of privacy and data sharing settings.

See also citation management, bibliographic databases, and reference management software.