Most citation managers require the creation of an online account in order to access additional features like group folders (to share with others) or to sync your collection from one computer to another.
If you opt to create an account in order to use these features, please note this means your data will be hosted on servers outside of Canada.
There is an abundance (or one could argue overabundance) of citation management tools on the market. Some are free, some are apps you pay for, and some are better than others. The citation management tool, Zotero, which we've paid particular attention to on this guide is one we highly recommend because of of all the great features it provides, and it's free!
No citation manager will produce perfect citations, but they do a lot of the work for you so if you can handle a few edits here and there, then they might be a good tool to incorporate into your writing and citing processes.
If you prefer to use some of the other citation management tools listed on this guide, that's fine, too -- just be cautious of ones that have a lot of flashy advertising, provide scarce information on who is behind it, or want you to download software (which could potentially be malware). Use your best judgment, and like any software or tool you're unfamiliar with, do some further investigation.
Some instructors assign citation assignments with the sole purpose of having you learn how to create a citation from scratch and then grading your work. In these cases, you should verify with your instructor if the use of a citation manager is within scope of the assignment, as the assistance these tools provide would be in opposition to the assignment requirements. If unsure -- check with your instructor, and check out the University's academic integrity page.
With the launch of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Chat GPT, Google Bard, and Perplexity AI, we're seeing a lot of citation issues.
In one case we have the creation of 'fake' citations. This is where a person might ask AI to write something for them about a topic, and the AI tool will cite what it has generated with fake citations (usually comprised of components of various real citations). These citations don't actually exist as entities as they were created by the AI tool.
In another case, a person might ask the AI tool to "cite an article with two authors in APA" or something similar. Sometimes it might do a good job, other times it won't -- so the lack of consistency should also be pause for concern.
As with any assignment, you will want to check with your instructor and ask if the use of AI is allowed, and if it is, you will want to be extremely cautious of the citations they generate.
Lastly, if you are allowed to use AI, you will need to cite that you used it. Some suggestions for how to do so are presented on the Libraries' AI guide.
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