When you have a lot of references for a project (or a lot of projects with references), there exists a category of software to make your life easier. Sometimes known as "citation tools" or "reference management software," these applications make keeping track of your PDFs, citations, and bibliographies A BREEZE. 

"Wikipedian Protester"

Comic by Randall Munroe (XKCD)

► Format a citation for a paper

Check out our Research Guide: Citing Your Sources

Use one of the citation generators linked to on the Citation Generators page, but make sure you check the output for consistency with your style guide.

► Keep track of sources for a project

There are lots of options for managing your sources and citations for larger projects. This guide highlights some of the most popular apps, but if those don't appeal, check out Wikipedia's "Comparison of reference management software" for a breakdown of features for over twenty different products.

► Create a bibliography in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word has its own bibliographic tools built-in; check out a MS Word page for links to tutorials on how to use these features.

All of the major reference management apps have plugins for Microsoft Word to insert citations in footnotes or endnotes and to generate bibliographies. 

Thank you to Butler University Libraries
for sharing and allowing us to use their citation guide.