Citations: There’s An App for That!Jane KesslerMary Van UllenJune 12, 2014

Why Citation Apps?

Citation Technology Solutions Citation management programs that support

hundreds of styles (EndNote, RefWorks, Mendeley, Zotero).

Simpler, web-based citation tools that typically support a few styles (BibMe, StyleWizard, KnightSite, EasyBib, NoodleTools).

Database citation formatting features. Many research databases allow users to export formatted citations (EBSCO, ProQuest, LexisNexis).

Mobile Technology Wireless technology is in our libraries. There’s an app for everything, why not

citations? Are they any good? Can we make recommendations?

Citation Apps Format citations on the fly, using the

device’s camera, speech-to-text or manual input.

Some work with a website to generate bibliographies.

May support a variety of citation formats or may be for a single format.

Many are currently limited to books. Most require you to email the citations

once you’ve created them.

The Challenges

So many devices, so little time and money

Thank you to SUNYLA for supporting our research

Different operating systems, Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, etc.

Difficulty finding apps on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Appstore

Variety of citation styles

Smartphone OS Market Share Forecasts

Smartphone OS 2013 Market Share 2017 Market Share

Android 75.3% 68.3%

iOS 16.9% 17.9%

Windows Phone 3.9% 10.2%

Blackberry OS 2.7% 1.7%

Other 1.2% 1.9%

Total Telecom+, Oct2013

The DevicesName Type Operating System

iPad 2Tablet iOS

iPhone 5Phone iOS

LG Optimus ElitePhone Android 2.3.7

Samsung GalaxyTablet Android 4.1.1

NexusTablet Android 4.4.2

The Devices

The Apps, Styles and DevicesApp Cost Style

sDevices

Citations2go $1.99 Pro versionAPA Galaxy,

Nexus, Optimus

CiteThis FreeAPA, MLA

Galaxy, Nexus, Optimus

Easybib Free

APA, MLA

iPad, iPhone, Galaxy, Nexus

i-Cite FreeAPA iPad,

iPhoneOptimus

iSource $4.99 each versionAPA, MLA

iPad, iPhone

QuickCiteit$1.03 Android, $0.99 iOS

APA, MLA

iPhone, Optimus

Methodology Selected 5 books Entered data by preferred method:

Barcode scanning ISBN searching Manual entry, text-to-speech if possible

Collected citations in APA and MLA where possible

Analyzed errors

The Stinker

Citations2go

Books, websites, articles, AV APA only, free version did not work well Can scan barcode or enter ISBN to

search for books No iOS version

Optimus phone, scanned barcode.

Citation generated without checking Publisher is Author box:

Neesley, C. (2009). Tasteofhome cookies.. Greendale: Taste of Home Books

With checking Publisher is Author box:

Home, T.O. (2009). Tasteofhome cookies.. Greendale: Taste of Home Books

CiteThis Scanner worked on Optimus phone, but not

on Nexus or Galaxy tablets One specific citation would cause the app to

crash on all devices, whether scanned or ISBN searched

Only worked for 10 digit ISBNs Manual input provided no tips for correct

entry Can switch styles once citations created, but

it won’t correct for the differences in capitalization, etc.

CiteThis Initial screen offers article search (author surname or article title)

Never retrieved searched articles

Barcode Scan

iCite APA only Books, websites, journal articles,

media, many source types WorldCat searching, formatting, and

emailing all problematic

iSource

Separate apps for each style Many source types

Additional “resource packs” available as in-app purchases to cover less common source types

No scanning, no searching, manual entry only

In-text citations No guidance for data entry We want our money back!

QuickCiteIt iPhone and Optimus, APA and MLA Only mode of entry is scanning Scan repeatedly before the book was

located Instantaneous emailing of citation from

the app

They said they were sorry, what more do you want?

QuickCiteIt

(2002). Creditor Reporting System on Aid Activities Aid Activities Targeting the Objectives of the Rio Conventions 1998/2000 Volume 2002 Issue 1. OECD Publishing.

EasyBib Website(easybib.com)

Web service that provides citation, note taking, and research tools that are easy-to-use and educational.

Free accounts are limited to MLA 7.

Can generate citations and store bibliographies for 59 types of sources.

Looks up books by ISBN, title, etc., and journal articles by title, doi.

MyBibPro (paid version) does APA & Chicago, formats in-text citations and allows citation downloads from research databases. ($20/yr)

EasyBib App

Available for iPhone/iPad or Android devices

Scan, Search TitleFreeFormats book citations in MLA, APA,

Chicago Interactive with EasyBib website

Add, delete citations

Change styles on the fly

Email all selected citations at once

E-mailed APA citationsTasteofhome cookies. (2009). Greendale, WI: Taste of Home Books. Save to EasyBib

Baifang. (1994). Chinese brain twisters: Fast, fun puzzles that help children develop quick minds. New York: Wiley & Sons. Save to EasyBib

Kean, S. (2010). The disappearing spoon: And other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements. New York: Little, Brown and. Save to EasyBib

Kidder, T. (2004). Mountains beyond mountains. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks. Save to EasyBib

EasyBib is the most popular bibliography composing service on the Web. We have provided your bibliography below. Check EasyBib out at www.easybib.com, and please tell your friends!

Sent from my iPad

Results – Errors by categoryCategory of error

Number of errors

% of total errors

Capitalization 41 10.3%

Date 2 0.5%

Italics/Underlining 79 19.8%

Name 54 13.6%

Publisher 101 25.4%

Punctuation 36 9.0%

Syntax 84 21.1%

Defies categorization

1 0.3%

Total 398 100%

Results- Errors per styleStyle Errors Errors per

citation

APA 249 3.1

MLA 149 2.7

Total 398 2.9

Results – Errors by AppApp Errors Citations Error rate

citations2go 18 15 1.2

Cite This 146 30 4.9

EasyBib 78 40 2.0

iCite 27 10 2.7

iSource 40 20 2.0

Quick Cite 89 20 4.5

Total 398 135 2.9

Conclusion

All had problems, none work perfectly You don’t get what you pay for Easybib best, would recommend We think there is great potential for these to be

improved: Accuracy Scanning and automatic entry of journal articles

and websites Updating our guide to citation generators – http://

libguides.library.albany.edu/citationgenerators

Now there’s no excuse