Referencing helpers are those programs that provide assistance with searching, cataloguing, and retrieving information from online libraries and the Internet. They do not provide help with formatting the text of an APA style paper beyond the reference list. All programs format references in multiple styles, including APA. They are amazingly powerful tools that are most helpful when introduced to students early on in their programs. This would allow students to maintain their own “libraries” of research material. These programs are especially helpful for graduate students and researchers. ISI Research Soft distributes Reference Manager, EndNote and ProCite. Oberon distributes Citation and BookWhere2000.
BiblioscapeÒ. Biblisoscape provides several products that assist in searching, cataloguing and managing references. Biblioscpae organizes references into folders like other reference formatters. It can search both libraries and the web and support SQL servers. There is a built in spell checker, which is a value added feature of this product. Biblioscape reports it works well with groups of users which is a feature not tested in this review.
Biblioexpress is a free, smaller version, of the referencing software. It is a smaller version of the product with less features for searching. In this version it is primarily used for collecting references using specific styles. Many undergraduate nursing students will find this program is all they need for collecting references for papers.
BibliowebÒ. Biblioweb is a product designed specifically for use in an organization’s Intranet. The manufacturer’s site allows users to test out a live database. While this program is very useful in formatting a large number of references, it may be beyond the needs of most students. Nursing departments that conduct collaborative research may benefit most from use of this program.
BookWhere2000Ò. BookWhere is specifically designed to search online libraries. Search results can be exported into CitationÒ, which is a popular referencing format helper made by the same company. Databases can be searched simultaneously, which saves time. This program was very easy to use. The author was able to search several databases within minutes of installing the software. It is designed to work specifically with CitationÒ.
CitationÒ. Citation is one of several powerful database programs that work from the tools menu of Word or Word Perfect word processing programs. Citation allows a user to create nearly unlimited databases, adding notes to records, searching and retrieving references. Citation also allows users to find duplicate entries; merge databases and spell check documents.
Citation is beyond what a typical undergraduate student would need for referencing helpers but would be very useful for graduate students and researchers. On the Citation web site, there is an excellent lesson plan for instructors to use that shows students what bibliographic software does and how to use it. Click on teaching notes from the home page to find this information.
EndNote 4.0Ò. EndnoteÒ provides a wide variety of tools for creating, organizing, sorting and retrieving information for bibliographies. EndNoteÒ uses “libraries” to organize data. These libraries can be sorted in a variety of ways and hold thousand of references. Bibliographies or reference sheets can be created by drag and dropping references, or cut and pasting. The user can create custom search terms for databases and link these terms to specified fields. Reference lists are generated by selecting references from a list and dragging and dropping them into the file. An add-in is available to make bibliography selection automatic within a word processing program.
The author was able to use this program with a minimum amount of instruction from the user manual. A connection to several databases was made on the first attempt. This program is used by many students, faculty and librarians who are in contact with the author. No user reported dissatisfaction with the program’s ability to manage references.
ProCiteÒ. ProCite is another of the powerful Internet library search programs. Over 200 libraries can be searched using ProCite. It is also possible to collect references across several databases, which decreases the time for necessary to create expansive bibliographies for larger projects. The user can collect reference information directly from the web, although graphics, tables, or figures are not stored, only text.
Reference ManagerÒ. Reference Manager (RM) provides another solid product for searching, organizing, and sorting references. It includes both the searching program, the organizer, and the database builder features. The author found this one the easiest to read from the computer screen. The features of RM, like other reference helpers are very sophisticated and will usually exceed the needs of an undergraduate student. Users of RM report a steep learning curve for this software, as the features are extensive. However, once the overall organization of the files is developed, updating is very easy.
Students and researchers can use this program to track and insert references into manuscripts, and to catalog research results. Academic institutions may want to use this product, or others, to track faculty publications. Librarians can use this product to keep track of specific collections and to disseminate information easily to groups of people. Faculty will find this and other reference manager programs an ideal tools for developing reading lists for students. Other features are beyond the scope of this paper, however the author urges any student beginning a thesis or dissertation to use one of the programs listed here. These programs not only save time but promote the discipline in researching that is so important in quality research studies.
Scholar’s Aide Ò. Scholar’s Aide, like PERRLA, was first developed by an individual who needed the product. It is the program of choice for students on a budget. There is a free 60 day trial period, a free “lite” version and it is the least expensive of the bibliographic software reviewed. They also offer a “starving student” discounted price for the full version.
Scholar’s Aide (SA) is very user friendly. The interface between the user and the computer is simple to use. The program actually consists of two programs. One organizes notes and the other the references. Each feature provides the user with an array of possibilities for searching, organizing, and formatting the outputs.
The program can be downloaded from the web site. The author found that several downloads were necessary in order to get the program properly installed. The downloaded files come in a compressed file format, so it is necessary to first decompress or unzip the file before using the program. Users will need a program that “unzips” files in order to be able to properly install this program. Directions are clearly posted on the web site to do this.
