InfoGuides: Bioengineering: Write & Cite

Citing & Writing Help

Citation Managers

A citation manager can make your life a lot easier. It helps you organize your references and notes. It can help you format your paper. Zotero is my favorite, but please choose the one that best suits your needs and workflow.

Zotero

Zotero
You will need to download Zotero Standalone and you will need to install a connector for your favorite browser (with the exception of Safari). Be sure to watch the Zotero Part 1: First Steps video (3:47)
Manage Citations: Zotero (videos)
Contains 8 videos made by George Mason University Libraries. The videos are helpful for getting started with Zotero.
Zotero Documentation
HTML documentation for Zotero on zotero.org. Most of what you need to do can be found in the documentation.

Mendeley

Mendeley
You will need to download Mendeley Desktop and the Mendeley extension might be helpful. Please view the Mendeley guide for more information.

Mendeley User Guide
by Leigh Ann Skeen Last Updated Mar 30, 2022 19 views this year

Citation Tools or Generators

Online Writing Lab (OWL), Purdue University
Find APA, Chicago, and MLA style and citation resources at the OWL from Purdue.
ZoteroBib
ZoteroBib helps you build a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software.

Writing Help

Mason Writing Center
Provides students at all levels advise and help to become better writers. Check out their Writing Resources page and their services for Graduate Students.
Annotated Bibliographies (OWL)
Provides basic information about annotated bibliographies--what they are and how to create them. (OWL @ Purdue)
Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Contains podcasts and blogs on different topics pertaining to grammar.

Literature Review Information

The following articles and e-books provide guidance on preparing your literature review, managing the research and writing process and more. Working remotely? Log in to the library before accessing these articles and books.

Getting a PhD: An Action Plan to Help Manage Your Research, Your Supervisor and Your Project
This guide provides useful information on how to manage the dissertation and avoid costly mistakes. See Chapter 4 -- The Literature Review for information about conducting and writing this important part of your dissertation.
Performing a Literature Review by Lois E. Reed
IEEE Frontiers in Conference (FIE), 1998, V. 1, pp. 380-383
DOI:10.1109/FIE.1998.736875 Log in to the library proxy server before accessing this article.
Covers planning the lit review, the different types of information sources to consider, where/how to get help and more.
Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: Entering the Conversation
"This book offers useful strategies for each phase of the process, from choosing advisors and identifying topics through writing, revision, and review." Include a chapter on the dissertation proposal.

APA Citation Style

APA Resources

The Basics of APA Style, 7^th ed.
Interactive tutorial from APA.org.
The OWL APA Formatting & Style Guide
Learn how to format your paper in APA style and create your in-text citations and list of references. (Purdue University)
APA Style: References Guide
This page from the creators of APA style provides guidelines and tips on creating APA references.
Citation Generator (APA)
Use this free citation editor/generator to create APA citations when you need them. Copy citations and paste into reference list.

How to Cite a Data Set in APA Style
This blog post can help you figure out how to cite the data sets you used.
Data Set References
Demonstrates how to cite data sets in APA. Produced by APA.

Citing Data
by Wendy Mann Last Updated Jul 14, 2022 140 views this year

Help with IEEE Citation Style

Use the IEEE Writing and Citation Style InfoGuide.