Resources for Citing and Reference Management:
UML Support Staff Training

January 27, 2022


Kyle Feenstra
Coordinator, Learning & Instruction Support

Sarah Clark
Learning & Instruction Support Librarian

Overview of today's session...

  1. Introduction
  2. Online resources for citing and writing
  3. Answering student questions about citing
  4. Citation managers
  5. Citation generators
  6. Questions

Go to: Menti.com  Use code: 22119674

Online Resources for Citing and Writing 

  • Learn at the Libraries: "References & Citations/Citing"
    • Primary resource for citing within the Libraries
    • Most common styles can be found here (APA, MLA, etc.)
    • Explains why we cite, and also includes handouts, style guides (online/print) and examples
  • Academic Learning Centre
    • If needed, refer students to Virtual Study Hall and/or tutor appointments (important to book early)
  • Contacting Librarians 

Support staff are not responsible for reviewing student work.

What you can do...

Answering student questions about citing

  1. Show students the Citing page on Learn at the Libraries
  2. Encourage students to use the published guides first!
  3. Offer one of the Libraries' citation examples handout (APA, Chicago, MLA, AMA) 
  4. If one of the published guides are not available online you can recommend the OWL guides from Purdue University. 

What if a student needs more help?
Who do I refer them to?

Answering student questions about citing

Librarian

Writing Tutor

Can help with formatting references according to a preferred style.

  • In-text citations
  • Footnotes & endnotes
  • References (Works Cited, Bibliography, etc.) 

Can help with using references responsibly in their writing.

  • quoting, summarizing, paraphrasing
  • when citations are required
  • formatting citations according to preferred styles.

Citation Managers  

Support staff are not responsible for teaching students how to use reference managers. What you can do...

  1. Show students the section on Reference Managers on the Learn at the Libraries Citing page. 
  2. Inform students that we only support Zotero, Mendeley, and Endnote. 
  3. Use the comparison chart to help them choose a reference manager that is suitable to their subject area. 
  4. If they request more help with using reference managers they can make an appointment with a librarian and attend one of our workshops.

How do Citation Managers Work? 

Open source, run by non-profit organization

Arts/Humanities & Social Sciences

Free version avail., Owned by Elsevier

Sciences & Health Sciences

Subscription cost, Owned by Clarivate/Thompson Reuters

Health Sciences & other clinical work (i.e. Psychology) 

Citation Generators  

What are they?

  • A simplified version of Citation Managers; generates a single citation for a source

Where to find them?

  • Many are built-in to databases, including Library Search (look for a "cite" option on the page)
  • ZoteroBib is one of the better tools for single citations
     

Need more information?
A brief overview of citation generators is included on the Learn at the Libraries' Citing page - see "What are Citation Generators?"

Citation Generators  

Benefits: 

  • Great for creating a single citation quickly!
  • Includes most popular citation styles
  • Are very easy to find/access
     

Drawbacks: 

  • Citations often have mistakes and need to be corrected
  • Difficult to identify errors for those who are new to citing
  • Will not include all citation styles 

Note: If students feel strongly about using citation generators, ensure they are aware of citation resources so they can check for accuracy

Questions?

kyle.feenstra (at) umanitoba.ca
sarah.clark (at) umanitoba.ca