More About Citations Key Takeaways

1. Citation managers take citation-generated references one step further.

Multiple citation management platforms can save time, take notes, and auto-generate not just citations, but entire bibliographies. These platforms include Mendeley, Endnote, and Zotero and offer plug-ins for internet browsers, Word, and Google Docs.

2. Always check your citations, even if using a citation generator.

Machines make mistakes too. Sometimes an auto-populated citation can get miscategorized, leading to formatting errors. Make sure that you have the correct citation style and all the necessary elements in the correct order.

3. Citation tracing can help you locate similar resources on your topic.

Citation tracing is a strategy that takes a specific source, examining what its author researched (known as backwards citation tracing) and who has used that source since its publication (a.k.a. forward citation tracing). Citation tracing tools can be found in academic library catalogs and on Google Scholar.