What software can help me manage my references?

There is nothing more tedious than citing sources. From finding all the relevant publication information for every source to making sure that you have listed the information in the right order, with the proper punctuation and formatting, the whole process takes up valuable time that can be better spent either writing or, better yet, resting after a job well done. 

Thankfully, the process of citing sources has largely been automated thanks to software like Zotero (my personal favorite), Mendeley (a good option), EndNote (which is not free to use but is useful nonetheless), or even just standard features in programs like Microsoft Word. There is no point, with all of these tools available, in doing the work by hand.

Now, each service has their pros and cons. For those of you with Microsoft Word, for instance, the Insert Citation feature in the References tab does work. The biggest issue is that it is not consistently updated; my current version of Word is still on Turabian 6th edition, for instance, instead of the most recent 9th, while Chicago is still on the 16th edition instead of the 17th, MLA is still on 7th instead of 9th, and APA style is still on the 6th instead of the 7th. This means that if you use the feature included in your version of Word, you will need to double-check citations to make sure that they are accurate to the most recent citation guidelines.

On the other end of the spectrum, the only citation software I've mentioned that costs money to use is also the most flashy and has the most features. For some, this will be enough reason to pay the licensing fee (at the hefty price of $135, if you get the student discount, or $250 at full price), but for most these features are luxuries rather than necessities. As I've already alluded to, my preference is for the free (and for my purposes fully functional) Zotero, but the choice of software is one that will be up to each writer. What I will say is that a) you should download a citation managing software because any citation manager is better than no citation manager, and b) you should do some research about your options and make an informed decision about which works best for you.

Now, once you get started with the citation software there is a learning curve: each software has its own quirks and way of doing things. You will want to take some time to learn how to use your citation software before you immediately begin using it in a paper. If you need any help with this, the Writing Center is open and I am happy to walk you through any issues you have using your software. 

Good luck and happy citing!