Citation Management 

Selected Citation Management Tools

Citation management tools allow you to import citations from eResources and websites. These tools also help you to organize citations and later import citations easily into documents and to generate reference lists in the appropriate citation style. Other typical functionalities:

• Make personal PDF library(-ies)
• Organize citations (as folders, as collaborative projects)
• Add notes

Learn more about the pros and cons of different citation managers and how to use them: PennState, Bodleian Libraries University of Oxford).

Remember: you need to check all citations for accuracy.

CitacePRO.com

Our library provides all registered patrons with access to CitacePRO.com, a simple and intuitive tool for creating, managing, and sharing citations. In addition to the web application, there is a Microsoft Word plugin that allows you to insert citations into your documents as you search and write.

Citace PRO is particularly useful for writing in Czech as it uses the ČSN ISO 690 citation standard. There are many other citation styles available as well (e.g. APA, IEEE, Chicago).

Accessing Citace PRO

• Go to Citace PRO
• If needed, switch to English (flag icon in menu)
• Sign in via NTK: Národní technická knihovna (it’s below username sign-in section)
• Log in with your library username and password

Citace PRO Free: free, limited version of the software with basic functions (only for ČSN ISO 690; available in Czech only)

Citavi

Citavi is a commercial citation manager with a range of features and support for project-based work. It allows you to organize citations, structure text, and collaborate with a team, but the desktop version is only supported by Windows. 

• Citavi Assistant (plugin for MS Word): inserts citations into documents, not currently compatible with Google Docs.

Additional resources:

• Video guides
• Citavi manual

EndNote

EndNote is widely used commercial citation manager developed by Clarivate Analytics. There is a free version, EndNote Basic (online, highly limited functionality) and a subscription version, EndNote Desktop, that UCT Prague and IOCB subscribe to for community members (check with your institution to see if it provides an EndNote subscription for students or employees). In addition to standard features, the paid version allows users to share libraries, annotate PDFs, and search for suitable journals for publication. EndNote can be used in both online and offline modes; however, some features are available only in the desktop application.

• Cite While You Write (MS Word and Google Docs plugin): inserts citations into text and generates an automatic reference list.
• EndNote Click (browser plugin): easily saves citations from online sources.

Additional resources:

• Help
• How to use EndNote and other EndNote Training tutorials

JabRef

JabRef is an open-source reference manager; its native file format is BibTeX, the standard LaTeX reference list format. JabRef can be helpful if you are working in LaTeX and writing in English. However, it does not offer annotation or PDF reading functionalities or automatic synchronization of the library between devices (this feature can be set manually). There is no fully integrated plugin for MS Word but insertion of citations into documents is supported by LibreOffice/OpenOffice.

• FAQ

Mendeley

Mendeley is a free citation manager developed by Elsevier. Currently, there are two distinct versions:

• Mendeley Desktop (version 1.19.8): a stable, fully-featured tool that supports offline work, PDF management, duplicate detection, and automatic metadata retrieval via identifiers. Although it is no longer officially supported, it is maintained in working condition at the request of users. However, some newer operating systems may not be compatible.
• Mendeley Reference Manager (current version): a cloud-based version with automatic synchronization (requires internet connection for syncing). Most features are available offline, but it lacks advanced PDF management (though PDF notetaking is supported). Actively maintained and regularly updated with new features.

Both versions support:

• Mendeley Cite (MS Word plugin): requires internet connection for initial login in the current version.
• Mendeley Web Importer (browser plugin): allows saving multiple sources at once directly from the browser.

Additional resources:

• Help guides
• Video tutorial

Zotero

Zotero offers free synchronization of attachments up to 300MB; it has collection management capabilities, citation management functions, and offers a wide variety of citation styles and many language versions.

• Zotero plugin for MS Word: installed automatically with Zotero (also supported by LibreOffice and Google Docs).
• Zotero browser plugin: extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari allowing quick saving of citations from online sources.

Additional resources:

• Learn more
• Video tutorial

Citation Generators (examples)

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Citation Methods

A citation method describes roles for in-text citations and refer reference lists. There are typically three different overarching stylistic methods:

• (author, date) method – Harvard system
  
• Footnotes method
  
• [numerical] method – Vancouver method
  

For more details, see Masaryk University guide.

Remember: Some citation styles require a specific citation method that must be followed.

Czech Citation Style

ISO ČSN 690 is the Czech version of the international citation standard ISO 690. Currently, the 2011 version of ISO CSN 690 (in Czech) is mostly used in citation managers such as Zotero or Mendeley. Interpretations of the new 2022 standard can vary according to one’s institution and there is no official freely available translation into English.

Commonly-used English Language Citation Styles

There is no single preferred citation style in English, so you should:

For theses, other essays: discuss which style is preferred by your institution with your supervisor (theses, other essays)

For academic journal manuscripts: check the author guidelines of the publisher of the journal you wish to publish in for the journal’s preferred style.

Chicago Style and its Variants

The most common citation style used worldwide is defined by the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS; most current: 18th edition), and its variants. Variants of this citation style are used by:

• AAA (American Anthropological Association)
• APSA (American Political Science Association, Political Science and International Studies)
• "Turabian" (often used in Social and Natural Sciences)

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

Used in many social science disciplines. Described in detail in the APA manual (7th edition), with many examples of its use in these style and grammar guidelines.

Harvard Style

Harvard referencing (also: the Harvard system; no connection with Harvard University) refers to the author-date citation method. It is common in the UK and Australia.

There are many different interpretations of it, so institutions that use this usually provide their own online guidelines (e.g.,  University of Lincoln, University of Sydney).

Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

Writing and citation style widely used in the US and Canada, especially in the humanities. There is a detailed MLA Handbook (9th edition) and many guidelines are available online (e.g. MLA Style Center, Purdue Online Writing Lab).

Journal Publisher Styles

Different publishers typically use different styles that may be modified versions of the US and UK styles listed above. Check the journal’s author guidelines (instructions for authors) for style requirements. When in doubt, contact one of our specialists for assistance.

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Examples of publisher-specific citation styles:

• ACS (American Chemical Society, ACS journals)
• AIP (American Institute of Physics, Physics and AIP journals)
• IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, for IEEE journals)
• ISA (International Studies Association, ISA journals)

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