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King's Guide to Referencing

  Reference management software [ref-er-uhns man-ij-muhnt soft-wair]

Reference management software allow users to create libraries of bibliographic records, and can integrate with word processors (such as Word, Pages or Google Docs) to automate the process of academic referencing. They are designed to help save students and researchers time so they can focus on writing, rather than referencing.

Do I need to use it?

For smaller projects where you only need to reference a few resources, we recommend following the steps in our Quick start guide. However, for larger projects, including dissertations and theses, we recommend investing some time in learning to use reference management software.

Which should I choose?

Libraries & Collections favour Zotero as it is free, open-source software which you can keep forever. We have summarised the benefits of Zotero and three other popular pieces of reference management software below.

Software Can I download it to my King's device? Can I access it after I graduate? Can I use it with my NHS Open Athens account? Does it work with Word (desktop)? Does it work with Word (browser)? Does it work with Pages? Does it work with Google docs? How much storage do I get?
EndNote Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Unlimited
Mendeley Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 2GB (2,000-2,700 PDFs) free, upgrade options available.
RefWorks n/a (web-based app) See Switching to a graduate account. See Reference management software for NHS. Yes No No Yes Unlimited
Zotero Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes 300MB (300-400 PDFs) free, upgrade options available.

EndNote

Download EndNote

Note that EndNote is available on PCs in our libraries and other study spaces across King's.

Training

Support

Full Text

If you would like to link your Desktop Endnote Library to KCL databases so you can use the Find Full Text function, you need to select:

Edit > Preferences > Find Full Text

This is the OpenURL path you will be asked for:

https://librarysearch.kcl.ac.uk/discovery/openurl?institution=44KCL_INST&vid=44KCL_INST:44KCL_INST&">https://librarysearch.kcl.ac.uk/discovery/openurl?institution=44KCL_INST&vid=44KCL_INST:44KCL_INST&

Authenticate with:

https://login.kcl.idm.oclc.org/login">https://login.kcl.idm.oclc.org/login=

Please note that some resources use a different authentication method. If EndNote cannot retrieve full text for a reference, right-click on the reference and click 'OpenURL Link' to check access options in Library Search.

Mendeley

Download Mendeley

Please Note - Mendeley recommend you use a personal email, i.e. not your @kcl.ac.uk address, to create your account. Institutional email addresses (those ending in .ac.uk) will not work for Mendeley desktop. If you need to change the email address associated with your account follow the steps here.

Training

Support

RefWorks

Tutorials

Support

Zotero

Download Zotero

Tutorials

Technical Support for Zotero

Generative AI

We do not recommend using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or CoPilot for academic referencing. Tools such as the ones listed on this page are a better way to automate aspects of citing and referencing.

King's has produced new student guidance on the use of generative AI tools. Students are not expected to reference generative AI but are expected to acknowledge its use through a statement. Please see the central Student Guidance for details.

Apps

See our Quick start guide to using Zoterobib for projects where you only have a handful of references.