Citation Tools

Choose your way of citing and referencing.

• Keep it simple

Do you have few references and don't want to make things too complicated? In any case, make sure you follow the citation style prescribed by your study programme.

1. Use a reference such as The APA Guidelines Explained: A practical guide to citation in higher education - 3rd revised edition or Leidraad Juridische auteurs.
2. Choose an online reference generator such as Scribbr or Cite this for me , or BibGuru .
3. The library catalogue: many library databases as well as Google Scholar offer a citation button (displayed as quotation marks). Clicking this button will create a correct reference in accordance with various citation styles which you can then copy into your text.

• Use what you have already got

Writing and instantly inserting your references into your text is a convenient way of working. Do you have only a small number of sources and don’t mind adding your references manually? Use the tab References in MS Word or the tab Tools > Citations in Google Docs.

Please note:

1. APA 7 is not yet available in Word.
2. The Vancouver citation style is not available in MS Word and Google Docs by default and it is not possible to adjust the available citation styles.

Therefore, consider the use of a citation management programme.

• The real thing (recommended for theses writing)

Do you use a lot of literature, for example for writing your thesis or for research? In this case, familiarize yourself with the more extensive software tools, known as citation management or reference management software tools. By using these, you avoid making errors while saving a lot of time.

A citation management tool makes it possible to import references straight from a search or a PDF file. This tool include useful plug-ins to insert references into MS Word or Google Docs and offer the option to sort, share and deduplicate your references. You can adapt any reference style according to the guidelines of your Programme.

• Import references from library databases, catalogues and websites
• Organize your sources and share them with others
• Add full text articles
• Add citations to your documents
• Create reference lists

Any questions?

• Do you have questions about the different citation tools? Ask the Library.
• Do you have specific questions about switching to another tool? Ask your faculty's contact person these questions.