Referencing Tools
Referencing software can be used to format citations and create bibliographies in the UCA Harvard style. The software works by saving sources you’ve found in your research, such as books on the LibrarySearch, and then formats them into references which can be added to your assignments.
Choosing to use referencing software into your studies will bring many other benefits beyond formatting your citations and bibliographies -
- Keep track of your research, it will store the details of all the different sources you’ve found during your research.
- Maintain a record of material you’ve used in your work, useful for when you want to use a source again in a later assignment.
- Designed to work with library resources such as the library catalogue, article/book chapter search tool and JSTOR.
- Store links to material you have accessed online such as eBooks, websites, online videos.
- Store pdfs of articles that you’ve found in your research.
- Share collections of references with other users of the software.
- Export all your references into a file that can be uploaded into another piece of reference software if you choose to change the software you use or take a break from your studies.
Reference Management Tools
There are many reference management applications available but the University supports -
- Paperpile is a web-based tool that works with Google products and you can access it easily on any computer with a Chrome browser
- BibGuru is an easy-to-use tool that generates bibliographies and citations quickly, it works on any browser and on any device
- Zotero is an open source program that requires software installed on a computer
- Zoterobib is a web-based stripped-down version of Zotero that is useful for creating a one-off bibliography
all feature an up to date and comprehensive version of our UCA Harvard style, something many of the other applications do not offer.
Paperpile is an easy to use tool that we provide for you so that you can manage your research online when using Google Chrome.
It is web based and has been designed to work with Google products, meaning you can save references using Chrome, organise your PDFs in Google Drive and cite your references in Google Docs.
Sources can be added to your collection from within the Paperpile website, or via Chrome when you are looking at databases or websites.
You can export bibliographies out of Paperpile in the UCA Harvard style or use Google Drive to cite as you write and generate your bibliography.
Getting started with Paperpile
- Go to the Paperpile website, and then select the Start Trial option. You will need to login with a Google account, this will then be used to access Paperpile.
- Go to Settings, then Account and click on Activate site license, then enter your UCA email address.
- You will receive a verification email which might go into your junk mail - click on this to verify your account and you will have full access to Paperpile.
- You will need to install the Paperpile extension for Chrome to use all the functionality. Paperpile will ask you to install the extension the first time you visit the Paperpile website. Alternatively go to the Chrome Web Store and install the extension directly from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zotero is a free, easy to use tool which will collect, organise, cite and share your research sources. It is a standalone piece of software that you can install on PC, Mac or Linux. You should find the software on PCs and Macs in the Library.
Sources can be added to Zotero from within the software, or by using your browser to collect references from databases and websites.
You can export bibliographies out of Zotero in the UCA Harvard style or use either the Microsoft Word or Google Docs plugin to cite as you write and generate your bibliography.
Getting started with Zotero
- Go to the Zotero website and register for an account. There is an option to do this at the top right of the screen.
- Go to the Zotero download page and download the version of the software for your computer. Download one of the browser connectors for Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
- Within the Zotero software go to Edit > Preferences > Sync (PC) or Zotero > Preferences > Sync (Mac) and login with your username and password.
Once you’ve created an account, the next thing to do is to get up and running with the software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zoterobib is a free web-based bibliography generator from the makers of Zotero.
To use it you simply go to the Zoterobib website, it requires no software or account.
You can use it to create a bibliography which will be saved in your browser, this can be added to over time. However, you can only use it for producing one bibliography at a time.
The bibliography can be copied and pasted into any document, or you can export it as a RIS file and import it into another piece of referencing software.
Getting started with Zoterobib
BibGuru is an easy-to-use tool that will create a bibliography for you in a few clicks. It works on any browser, and there is no need for a plug-in or any additional software.
To save references into BibGuru you simply create a free account, you can use your own Google or Facebook account to sign up. Then simply log into your BibGuru account on any browser on any computer/phone/tablet to access your references, add sources and create bibliographies.
If you are citing a website, simply drop the URL in and BibGuru cites it in seconds. For books search the title and then click the citation that matches what you need. For articles just search the title, author, or add the DOI and BibGuru will find it for you.
BibGuru comes with the University for the Creative Arts Harvard style, you can then copy and paste citations and bibliographies from BibGuru into your work.
Getting started with BibGuru
- Go to the BibGuru website and Sign Up for an account. There is an option to do this at the top right of the screen.
- Create a New Project for each assignment that you are working on
- Set the Style in each project as University for the Creative Arts – Harvard, go to More citation styles to select it.
- Use the Copy option to copy citations and bibliographies.
Frequently Asked Questions
