How to choose the best citation manager for your systematic review

A systematic review requires a rigorous and comprehensive search of the literature, which can result in thousands of citations to manage and organize. A citation manager is an essential tool for any researcher who wants to simplify this process and avoid errors and inconsistencies. But how do you find the best citation manager for your needs?

In this article, we will discuss some of the features that you should look for in a citation manager, and how to use it effectively for your systematic review. We will also explain how a citation manager can facilitate collaboration with your co-authors, and why EndNote™ from Clarivate™ is one of the most trusted and reliable citation managers available.

What is a citation manager and why do you need one for your systematic review?

A citation manager is a software application that helps you collect, store, organize, and cite the references that you use for your research. A citation manager can save you a lot of time and hassle by automating tasks such as importing references from databases, creating bibliographies, and formatting citations according to different styles.

For a systematic review, a citation manager is especially useful because it can help you keep track of the large and diverse sources of information that you need to synthesize and evaluate. A citation manager can also help you avoid duplication, inconsistency, and plagiarism in your citations, which can compromise the quality and credibility of your review.

How to choose the best citation manager for your systematic review?

There are many citation managers available, but not all of them are equally suited for a systematic review. Some of the features that you should look for in a citation manager are:

• Integration with the databases you’re searching: You want to eliminate manual data entry so look for a tool that enables you to import your findings directly into a library that saves and organizes them. For example, EndNote integrates with databases such as PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar.
• Customizable libraries: The ability to create multiple “libraries” of the references you collect makes it easy to organize references by topic, project or study. Make sure these libraries can support thousands of references if you’re undertaking a large-scale review.
• Robust search features: Your review will likely encompass thousands of sources that you’ll want to search automatically. A bonus if the tool can deduplicate sources that have been saved more than once.
• Tagging and categorization: Tagging references with keywords, labels and custom fields will allow quick retrieval during the review process.
• PDF management: Being able to annotate PDFs you’ve saved in your library will help you extract relevant information during the review. Another time-saver: automatic extraction of metadata, like author names, publication details, and abstracts.
• Automated citation and bibliography creation: A citation manager can streamline the production of your manuscript and ensure more accuracy and consistency with automated citation insertions and bibliography creation. (Make sure it supports your citation style!)

How to use a citation manager for collaboration in your systematic review?

Writing a systematic review on your own is hard, but it can be even more challenging if you’re collaborating with a team, especially if your coauthors are working across multiple locations. This is another area where a citation manager can improve the coordination between you and your co-authors—both around the department and around the world.

A citation manager like EndNote will allow you to work together in real-time, sharing references, access to libraries with annotations that team members can see no matter their location. For large teams, you may want to have various levels of access, with some team members who can read references, while others can add and delete references and annotate articles.

A note of caution: if you’re giving team members the ability to add, delete and annotate, be sure your citation manager has a version history so you can undo changes when needed. No matter what citation manager you choose, remember that effective collaboration also depends on clear communication and agreed-upon conventions among team members.

Why choose EndNote as your citation manager for your systematic review?

EndNote is one of the most popular and trusted citation managers among researchers, with over 100 million users worldwide. EndNote offers all the features that you need for a systematic review, plus more. With EndNote, you can:

• Search hundreds of online databases and import references directly into your EndNote library.
• Create and manage multiple libraries with unlimited storage and sync them across your devices.
• Organize your references with groups, keywords, ratings, and custom fields.
• Find and remove duplicate references with advanced options.
• Access and annotate PDFs with highlights, comments, and sticky notes.
• Insert citations and create bibliographies in over 6,000 styles, and easily switch between them.
• Share your libraries with up to 100 collaborators, and control their access and permissions.
• Track changes and restore previous versions of your libraries with EndNote online.

A note of caution: if you’re giving team members the ability to add, delete and annotate, be sure your citation manager has a version history so you walk back changes when needed.

No matter what citation manager you choose, remember that effective collaboration also depends on clear communication and agreed-upon conventions among team members.

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