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HOME / FREE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY / 12 Best Free Online Bibliography And Citation Tools (2017 Update)

By Christoforos Pappas
February 18, 2013 1
Comment

FREE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

12 Best Free Online Bibliography And

Citation Tools (2017 Update)
Referencing the person whose ideas an eLearning content developer uses is of the utmost
importance. Plagiarism is the worst nightmare of every eLearning professional. Are you
looking for the best free online bibliography and citation tools? In this article, Ill share the
top 12 free online bibliography and citation tools.

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The Best Free Online Bibliography And Citation Tools

Free online bibliography and citation tools have become an integral part of every eLearning
project, especially if you are on a tight eLearning budget. eLearning content developers
make extensive use of these platforms to avoid being accused of stealing somebody elses
ideas. However, cost keeps rising if you add fancy citation tools with elegant and advanced
features. So, here are the best free online bibliography and citation tools that are bound to
get the job done without any extra burden on your eLearning budget.

1. BibMe

One of the most functional free online bibliography and citation tools on the Internet. All
the features an eLearning content developer needs are there.

4 Citation Styles
Whether you are using MLA, APA, Turabian or Chicago, BibMe can help you reference your

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work effectively.
Variety Of Sources
Journals, websites, books and many other sources covering both digital and print
format.
Plagiarism Checker
Check your content for plagiarism against a great deal of sources on the Internet to
avoid using somebody elses words.

Features And Plans

Free Version Available
Most of the features are available in the free version.

2. Citation Machine

This is de nitely one of the most easy to use free online bibliography and citation tools.

Vast Citation Style Variety

Citation Machine can help eLearning content developers reference in all 4 major styles,
namely APA, MLA, Chicago and Turabian. However, it provides an immense library of
7.000 additional citation styles for many different elds.
Resources And Guides
The platform offers a guide on how to properly cite in APA, MLA and Chicago.
Plagiarism Checker
Much like BibMe, this platform also offers this feature that only comes if you subscribe
though.
Numerous Sources
Citation Machine allows you to cite content from books, magazines, newspapers,
journals, lms and many other sources.

Features And Plans

Free Version Available
Citation Machine offers many of its great features for free.

3. Citavi

Citavi is multi-purpose free online bibliography and citation tool eLearning content
developers can use for their knowledge organization needs. It is also a reference manager
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and a task management platform.

Research Process Management

From importing sources, referencing them properly and then exporting them, to
managing content and allocating tasks in a team, this free online bibliography and
citation tool does much more than help you create a works-cited page.
Many Options To Add References
Citavi gives you the chance to choose the way you want to add references. It features 35
options to include automatical or manual referencing as well as using a bar code
scanner or PDF referencing.
Knowledge Organizer
Two groundbreaking options that are Citavi exclusives enable you to organize knowledge
in an ef cient way. Keywording and a hierarchical category system will aid you in adding
your own thoughts to the platform.

Features And Plans

Free Version Available And Various Premium Options
Citavi will not charge you anything for up to 100 references. Then, you have various
premium membership options for commercial use, education as well as student and
personal use.

4. Citefast

While having a relatively simplistic interface, this platform offers all the major functions of
a good free online bibliography and citation tool.

3 Citation Styles
APA, MLA and Chicago to cover all your basic reference needs as well as an in-text
citation generator.
Good Variety Of Sources
Webpages, books, journals, newspapers and online videos along with many other digital
and print sources.
Style Guides For All 3 Citation Styles
Comprehensive list of style tips for APA, MLA and Chicago.

Features And Plans

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No Subscription Programs
Citefast offers all of its features for free.

5. Citelighter

An award-winning multi-purpose free online bibliography and citation tool that also
functions as an excellent writing aid tool.

Automatic Bibliographies And Writing Templates

Citelighter will generate your bibliographies automatically leaving you more time for
writing. It also features great writing template variety to help you organize your thoughts
effectively.

Features And Plans

Demo Version And 1 Premium Option Available
Although Citelighter has a paid version, you do have the chance to test out many of its
great features for free. Citelighter offers a very competitive package in a very affordable
price which they claim is 80% less than similar market solutions. By contacting them you
can nd out about the price speci cs.

6. Docear

Open-source academic literature management and free online bibliography and citation
tool with lots of interesting features that can assist eLearning content developers in
referencing their eLearning materials.

Single-Section User Interface

Easy-to-use layout that allows users to organize documents and categorize annotations.
It also enables multiple viewing of various annotations in different documents.
Available In Various Platforms
Windows, Mac, and Linux to suit the needs of any eLearning content developer.

Features And Plans

No Premium Subscription Required
Docear doesnt have any premium membership options, but it does give you the chance
to donate for its running and maintenance costs.

7. Recipes4Success
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Whats radical about this free online bibliography and citation tool is that it gives you the
chance to even reference sources like sound effects, music pieces, images and email
messages.

Automatically Formatted Citations

You still have to type in all the information but Recipes4Success formats it for you.
Simple And Easy-To-Use Interface
Recipe4Successs user-friendly interface is applicable to all sorts of needs.

Features And Plans

No Premium Subscription Required
No fee is required for users to utilize Recipes4Successs features.

8. OttoBib

While we are in the digital era a great deal of information comes from print publications
such as books. OttoBib is one ofthose free online bibliography and citation tools that are
used speci cally for book sources.

ISBN Citations
OttoBib enables eLearning content developers to reference their content just by
providing the ISBN number of the book they used.
6 Citation Styles
MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, Wikipedia and BibTeX to cover all your basic citation needs.
Google Chrome Extension
This add-on allows you to create citations from the comfort of your favorite web
browser.

Features And Plans

No Subscription Required
OttoBib does not require any premium subscriptions.

9. RefDot

Although you wouldnt actually call it a free online bibliography and citation tool, eLearning
content developers can de nitely bene t from this Google Chrome extension.

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Numerous Citation Options

RefDot allows you to cite books, journals and web sites.
Reference Storing
References are stored in your Google Chrome browser.
Lots Of Features
Simultaneous author management, XML, standard text and HTML format viewing.

Features And Plans

No Subscription Required
RefDot is a 100% free Google Chrome extension.

10. Zotero

Browser plugin and a great free online bibliography and citation tool that helps eLearning
content developers gather, manage and share their research sources.

Personalized Resource Libraries

By embedding this plugin you are able to store digital sources of virtually any kind in
your library by a single click.
Support For Many Sites
From university libraries to news sites, Zotero provides all the research assistance you
need.

Features And Plans

No Subscription Required
Zotero is a free online bibliography and citation tool. As such it does not require any
memberships.

11. EasyBib

Free online bibliography and citation tools constitute a functional way for people wanting
to reference various types of content, both digital and print. EasyBib provides a well-
rounded solution for all your citation needs.

59 Content Sources
Content sources range from traditional types such as books and journal articles all the
way to live performances and newsletters.

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Manual Cite
Although Easybib provides automatically formatted citations, you also have the option
to manually cite your references and even add annotations.

Features And Plans

No Subscription Required
EasyBib offers its citation features for free.

12. CiteThisForMe

CiteThisForMe is one of those free online bibliography and citation tools that offer a
plethora of features for referencemanagement.

Functional Interface
Citethisforme showcases a great layout. Everything you need is easily accessible from
the comfort of your own dashboard.
Practical Features
Great variety in sources, citation styles and editing options. Whats more, if you pay for a
subscription you can get additional features such as a plagiarism checker, a Chrome
add-on and a mobile application.

Features And Plans

Free Version And 1 Premium Option Available
Although CiteThisForMe comes with a free version, there is also 1 premium option
available. For $9 you can purchase the premium version and get 5 plagiarism checks per
month, spelling and grammar checks as well as various other features.

Free online bibliography and citation tools are the most effective way for eLearning content
developers to give credit to people whose ideas they used. More importantly, these
platforms offer great and functional features with no additional expenses, which is
extremely important for maintaining a low eLearning budget for an eLearning project.

Free online bibliography and citation tools are just one type of tool eLearning content
developers should have in their bunker. Another one is free tools to create infographics.
Read the article List Of Free Tools To Create Infographics For Your Learners and nd out
about the best free tools to produce quality infographics for online learners.

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