Tools for Literature Work

Anna Lindenmeier — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 11:04:09 +0000

Citavi

Citavi is a reference management program, with regular training sessions offered by the TH Nuremberg.

Here you store bibliographic information (for books, articles, websites etc.) as well as text and image citations.

In Citavi, you can also organize knowledge and plan tasks. Title details and citations are automatically transferred into the word processor, and a proper citation list is generated. This saves a lot of time as you don’t have to manually type the bibliographic information.

You can adjust the citation style according to your preferences.

Using the search functions, you can quickly find citations, notes, and references, keeping everything organized. Instead of dealing with paper notes, all the literature you need is stored in one database.

BibTEX

BibTEX refers to both a tool and a file format used to manage bibliographies (usually in conjunction with LATEX).

The bibliographic information (i.e., authors, titles, year etc.) is stored in a separate file with the extension “.bib”. These files contain an entry for each work, with attributes depending on the type of reference.

BibTEX files can be created and managed with free tools like JabRef.

Frequently asked questions

Can I combine both programs?

Yes, with Citavi, you can insert source references and citations with the corresponding BibTeX key into your TeX document. Citavi automatically generates the BibTeX file needed by your TeX program to produce the final document.

Why should I use Citavi?

In Citavi, you can organize knowledge, plan tasks, and customize the citation style as you wish. Title information and citations are automatically transferred into the word processor, and a correctly formatted bibliography is generated.