There are a variety of tools to help format citations. Three of the most popular ones that UI&U students have access to are WorldCat, RefWorks, and Zotero.
WorldCat
Copy & paste preformatted APA, Chicago, and MLA citations directly into your bibliography. An excellent tool for Bachelors and Masters-level students. Please note: WorldCat citations are automatically formatted and need to be reviewed for accuracy.
- Free
- Easy to learn and use
- Supports APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and Turabian styles
- No account creation or software downloads required
Visit the WorldCat advanced search page to get started.
RefWorks
Save citations & PDF files online while researching and insert them later as in-text and bibliography citations in your papers. Please note: RefWorks citations are automatically formatted and need to be reviewed for accuracy.
- Free for current UI&U faculty, staff, and students (normally requires a subscription)
- Medium level of difficulty; can take several days to learn
- Supports APA, Chicago, MLA, and thousands of other citation styles.
- Easy to switch between citation styles
- Allows you to create a personal library of citations (you can also upload article PDF's)
- Citation library stored online (allows you to access your library from multiple computers)
- Helps you organize your citations and collaborate with other researchers
- Internet browser & word processor compatibility (specifications)
- Set-up required: Creation of a RefWorks account and downloading Write-N-Cite (a word processor plugin)
Zotero
Save citations & PDF files on your computer while researching and insert them later as in-text and bibliography citations in your papers. Please note: Zotero citations are automatically formatted and need to be reviewed for accuracy.
- Free, open source software
- Medium level of difficulty; can take several days to learn
- Supports APA, Chicago, MLA, and thousands of other citation styles.
- Easy to switch between citation styles
- Allows you to create a personal library of citations (you can also upload article PDF's)
- Citation library is stored on your computer (works great if you're using one computer/laptop)
- Helps you organize your citations and collaborate with other researchers
- Browser compatibility: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari (Internet Explorer is not supported)
- Word processor compatibility: MS Word, NeoOffice, LibreOffice, and OpenOffice
- Set-up required: Downloading Zotero and a word processor plugin
