Quick Tip: It is important to note that often times plagiarism is unintentional and stems from a lack of information on and understanding of the topic. See the resources on this page to better comprehend this complex topic to make sure that you aren't falling into accidental plagiarism.
For more detailed information on what plagiarism is and how to avoid it see our guide:
Citation management tools allow you to store your resources and research in one place, no matter where you got them from. In addition to being a way to keep track of your research they will also generate citations for you in the style that you specify.
Quick Tip: Citation management tools are a great way to stay organized while you research and save you time and energy when creating citations.
Find out more about citation management tools, including access to open source (free) options, and how to use them on our guide
Mendeley is a free tool which means you don't need a subscription through UNM to access it. With Mendeley you can:
Import and annotate PDFs directly in your personal Mendeley Library.
Import website links into your personal Mendeley Library.
Create in-text (with Word) and works cited lists.
Save citations online or through the desktop download. Mendeley's online component works like the cloud, syncing your library across computers and online.
Organize and search your own personal resource library.
Create folders and subfolders
Star important items
Create your own tags for items
Search across your entire Mendeley library
Zotero is a free tool which means you don't need a subscription through UNM to access it. With Zotero you can:
Import PDFs directly into your personal Zotero Library.
Import website links into your personal Zotero Library.
Create groups to share PDFs and/or citations.
Create in-text and works cited lists.
Save citations online or through the desktop download. Zotero's online component works like the cloud, syncing your library across computers and online.
Organize and search your own personal resource library.
Create folders and subfolders
Create your own tags for items
Search across your entire Zotero library
| Feature | Mendeley | Zotero |
| Free | Y | Y |
| Has online & desktop component | Y |
Y |
| Can save PDFs & links | Y | Y |
| Built in PDF Reader (with annotating) | Y* |
N |
| Creates works cited citations | Y |
Y |
| Creates in-text citations with Google | N | Y |
| Creates in-text citations with Word | Y | Y |
| Group sharing capabilities | Y** | Y |
| Ability to create folders for organizing | Y | Y |
| Ability to create tags for organizing | Y | Y |
| Ability to star favorite/important docs | Y | N |
| Ability to search entire library | Y | Y |
*With the Mendeley built in PDF reader you can annotate PDFs by adding highlights and notes. These notes can be exported from Mendeley but it worth knowing that the highlighting will not be transferred out if you ever wish to export the PDF.
**Group sharing with Mendeley is limited. If you are creating a group that shares PDFs you can only have 1 of these with up to 3 people. If you wish to just share citations there are more allowances.