EDUC 697 Education Minor Capstone: Staying Organized

The best way to save your searches is to create a user account in the database platform you are using. This account is separate from your UNC Onyen, but you can use your UNC email to create it.

You only need to create one account per platform. 

Citation managers help you collect, organize, share, and cite research materials. UNC Libraries offers support for 3 citation management programs: Zotero, Lean Library Workspace (Sciwheel), and EndNote. 

• Zotero
• Lean Library Workspace (Sciwheel)
• EndNote

Citation mangers can:

• Help you organize and keep track of references for your classes and research projects
• Automatically format in-text citations for your papers in Word or Google Docs
• Automatically generate bibliographies for your papers in Word or Google Docs
• Format references in thousands of citation styles
• Store and organize full text PDFs with highlighting and sticky note features
• Store and organize copies of webpages
• Collect references and/or PDFs from your browser as you search
• Allow for team collaboration in groups
• Export references and transfer them to other citation management programs
• Provide access to your references on a desktop application, internet browser, or mobile app 
• Search for full-text PDFs

The Libraries offer free introductory classes on these programs. Visit our Upcoming Events page to view what's happening virtually and in person.

Download or copy the document below to track your database searches. An example search strategy process begins on page 4.

Search Strategy Template

Zotero is a free and open-source citation management system. If you're not sure which citation manager to choose, start with Zotero -- you can transfer your references to another citation manager at any time, and you won't lose access to it after you leave UNC.

ZoteroBib (zbib) is a free service from Zotero to help you generate citations. Just enter the DOI, URL, or title, and zbib will do the rest.