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Citations and Avoiding Plagiarism
Which tools are available?
Many students and scholars use these tools to "grab" a citation and store it with their research materials for reference and for possible inclusion in a bibliography or cited sources section of a paper.
Just be aware that the citations you copy are often slightly flawed and will need to be checked before adding to your final bibliography!
- Citation Tools in SHU Library DatabasesCheck out the page on this guide to see how to find the automatic citation generators in the online library catalogs and databases you as you search.
- Zotero reference management softwareZotero is a research management tool that can be used as a FireFox plug-in, or as a standalone software on your computer. Zotero is designed to store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books and articles.
- ZoteroBib"ZoteroBib helps you build a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software. It’s brought to you by the team behind Zotero, the powerful open-source research tool recommended by thousands of universities worldwide, so you can trust it to help you seamlessly add sources and produce perfect bibliographies. If you need to reuse sources across multiple projects or build a shared research library, we recommend using Zotero instead."
- Purdue OWLThe Purdue OWL is often considered the go-to source for information about citations. The OWL goes beyond citation convention rules for each style, it offers information about when to cite and how to incorporate citation into your writing.
- Google ScholarGoogle scholar provides citations for articles from the search result list (currently MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard or Vancouver). To grab a citation click on the quotation mark link below a search result and select from the available citation styles.
- Citation MachineCitation Machine is designed to help you generate your APA or MLA citations. You can select your citation style and the type of resources you need to cite. Remember to always double check generated citations, as there may be errors.
Getting Help With Citations
Email or Chat
You can email us or chat with a librarian from wherever you are! Chat service is staffed by SHU Librarians during normal business hours.
Research Consultations
SHU librarians with are available for remote citation consultations via phone, email, or online (e.g. Teams).