General information
The core functions of reference management software include
- Simple importing of literature sources directly from library catalogs, bibliographic databases or search engines.
- Searching, saving and managing full texts, especially in PDF format.
- Describing, organizing and indexing literature (categorizing, indexing, evaluating, etc.).
- Evaluating literature, often with the help of integrated functions for PDF editing (marking, annotating, excerpting, writing out quotations, etc.).
- Linking literature and self-created material (quotations, excerpts, comments, etc.) with your own text
- Citing in the desired style,
- Creating bibliographies
Services offered by the university library
The Siegen University Library provides information, training and advice specifically on the programs Citavi and Zotero.
An overview of the functions of these (and other programs) can be found in the Reference Management Software Comparison of the TU Munich.
Citavi
Citavi is a Windows-based reference management program.
We offer all members of the University of Siegen the campus license free of charge.
With Citavi ...
- literature data can be recorded in a formal and structured way
- search for literature by topic in library catalogs
- import literature sources from databases
- excerpts, notes, quotations and own thoughts can be recorded in a differentiated way
- pdf files can be integrated
- correct citation becomes easy
- literature sources can be linked to the work (in Microsoft Word)
- a bibliography can be created in the desired citation style
To use the campus license, the following steps are necessary:
- Download Citavi 7 for Windows (Current version Citavi 7)
- (Citavi 7 is not compatible with Libre Office or Open Office, in this case the version Citavi 5.7 must be used).
- Via the campus license list the University of Siegen must be selected.
- Registration with the e-mail address of the University of Siegen
- After starting the program, the access data for the Citavi account must be entered.
Information on renewing your license can be found in the Citavi Account Manual
Information on licensing older versions can be found in the Citavi Account Manual
The following help pages are also useful for Citavi 7:
Everything at a glance
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Costs
free of charge (licensed by the University Library) -
Operating system
Windows -
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Please note:
- For data protection reasons, projects should not be saved in the Citavi Cloud!
Unfortunately, it is not technically possible to switch off the cloud connection. The Citavi Cloud is not suitable for storing content-sensitive data. In particular, no research data or personal data may be stored in the Citavi Cloud. More detailed information on this can be found in the handout on the save us of Citavi. - We have written the procedure for saving your projects outside the Citavi Cloud in these short tutorials:
- Saving projects outside the cloud (Text, german)
- Saving projects outside the cloud (screencast)
Zotero
Zotero is an easy-to-use software available for all common platforms that supports the collection, organization, annotation and citation of literature. Zotero also offers options for collaborative work and sharing your own research. In detail, the program offers the following functions:
- Setting up your own, personally annotated literature database:
- Enter literature data manually and automatically via the browser or identifiers.
- Index literature by assigning keywords and allocating them to collections.
- Create notes with a text editor, download pdfs automatically and annotate them directly in Zotero.
- Insert citations, references and bibliographies into a text in the desired citation style.
- Work from anywhere, across devices and with others thanks to cloud storage, browser-based access to your own library.
- Create a personal profile, share your own publications and libraries with others, search other users' public libraries, join groups or set up your own.
- Various functions can be added using add-ons from the active open source community.
Zotero is an open source program and is free to download and use. The software runs on all common operating systems and there is an iOS app.
- Install the current version of Zotero
- Install the Zotero Connector for the browser
Everything at a glance
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Costs
free of charge -
Operating system
All common operating systems -
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