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Tools of the Trade

Managing Your Citations

As you move through your academic career, managing your references becomes an increasingly important issue. The most valuable tool you can purchase is reference management software that allows you to create a personal database of your citations and output them in a variety of styles and formats. Some popular software packages are EndNote, Reference Manager, and ProCite. Most universities offer a discount to students and faculty members purchasing these software packages. Many libraries and writing centers also provide training for various reference management programs.

Using reference management software, you can download references from bibliographic databases into your personal database. Then you can automatically generate bibliographies and footnotes for the papers you write. A wide variety of citation formats are supported, including APA, MLA, and CSE.

Save yourself a lot of time by entering your references into your personal database as you go along, instead of waiting until the end to do it. And speaking of the writing process, make a plan to keep up with the literature in your field on a regular basis. This is called "current awareness."

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