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Research Strategies

Manage your research strategy, use databases more effectively, and understand how the library is organized -- it's all here.

About Organizing & Managing

 

Managing your resources is essential to ensuring you can easily find your materials and have accurate and detailed information to create citations and write well for your assignments and papers.

Organizing Your Resources

 

When you have read several articles and other items, and have decided on specific items, follow these tips.

Collect Resources

  • bring together all resources you are going to use in your paper into one location - videos, online materials, print items, etc.

Store References

  • create correctly formatted citations for each resources
  • organize citations and add notes for your own use in a separate section.
  • write a few key points about that source to help you recall the main theme of the item and how it relates to your assignment
  • link to full text, web pages and documents where possible
  • print or store electronic materials and store in a folder or electronically in the cloud, USB key, or other drive

Citation Management

 

NOTE: The Library does not recommend nor support any one specific bibliographic management tool.  However, if you choose to use any one of the following, library staff will assist in helping you find information about the use of these tools so you can learn to use them effectively.

There are a lot of options for managing your citations.  All of the tools below provide similar functionality:

  1. They allow you to create custom folders and tags for your citations,
  2. Save a link to anything you find online,
  3. Choose automatic citation formatting (APA, MLA, IEEE, etc.),
  4. Store your data on their servers.

Each tool offers some unique features which may help you decide which one is right for you. 

How to choose: There is no right answer, it is just a matter of preference:  which features and interface you like best.
You might consider asking other students and faculty studying and teaching in your discipline which one they use.

  • Most bibliographic management systems require a subscription.  Others offer very basic options for free but to use the features required for our coursework at COTR, you would have to subscribe to the online system.
  • ZOTERO functions with Mozilla FireFox ONLY.

The bibliographic management systems listed below are in random order and not in any way suggestive of preference.

Key Features:

  • Automatically creates formatted bibliographies
  • Imports RSS feed data
  • Has a mobile platform for iPhone use
  • Provides access to author/journal info
  • Ability to search other catalogues/databases within the interface and import citations
  • YouTube Video

(requires a subscription)

Key Features:

  • Firefox plugin so it works wherever Firefox does
  • Integrates with Firefox browser to provide 1-click importing
  • Desktop client available
  • Will store any file type
  • Archives web pages (i.e. stores them as they are when you save them)
  • Provides plugins for Word and Open Office to create bibliographies
  • Drag-and-drop citations into your paper
  • Create shared or group libraries
  • Publish your library or a certain folder as an RSS for others to see
  • YouTube Video

Key Features:

  • Desktop and web-based platforms
  • Automatically creates bibliographies/endnotes
  • Microsoft Word plugin
  • Archives PDF files
  • Many databases provide direct EndNote export of citations
  • YouTube Video

(requires a subscription)

Key Features:

  • Offers both a desktop and web client
  • Allows you to collaborate with colleagues and create groups
  • Can extract bibliographic data from pdf files
  • Syncs with other citation tools
  • Allows you to add sticky notes and highlighting to pdf files
  • Provides plugins for Word and OpenOffice to create bibliographies
  • Drag-and-drop citations into your paper
  • Provides research recommendation and trends based on tags and citations
  • YouTube Video

Key features:

  • Web-based and accessible from any browser
  • Offers both a free and premium version
  • Links with iPhone app
  • Developed by students for students
  • YouTube Video

(some functionality is free but requires a subscription for most features and citation styles)