Referencing and using sources - Citation generators - What are they? Where are they?

See this example properly formatted in the QUT Cite tool.

A citation generator will automatically create citations and reference lists. Some require the user to enter the necessary information (title, author etc.) and others get it directly from another source, such as a database or URL.

There are several types of tool that can do referencing automatically:

  1. Library search tools, databases and Google Scholar often provide a link to generate a reference from the item you are looking at. Below is an example from QUT Library Search.
  2. Word has a references ribbon that helps you add citations and a reference list - these are often very out of date so be wary.
  3. Bibliographic management tools, such as Endnote, Paperpile or Zotero all can be used to store and manage your research and references as well as creating citations and references. There is a useful table comparing the most common ones that you have access to.
  4. There are some subscription or freely available reference generators available, including Cite this for me, MyBib, and Citemaker. Paperpile has a useful comparison chart of some of these.