There are a wide variety of tools which are freely available to help you with citing and creating reference lists, however none of them are perfect which is why it is important you know the basics of APA referencing and the key points to be aware of.
Citation tool in iFind
iFind, the library catalogue has a tool which recommends how books and journal articles should look in the APA style of referencing. (We looked at this briefly on Days 1 and 2.) Click on Library, then Actions then Citation to view this. You can view a short screencast of this online.
Always check this! The tool is good but it will make some mistakes therefore you need to know which bits of information are required.
Referencing tools in databases
Some databases also have a tool that formats a reference for you. We have produced short screencasts of how to do this in Business Source Complete and in Proquest Business Collection. You must remember to check that the information is correct, though!
Referencing using word (Manage sources)
Word has a referencing tab on the tools bar which can be useful if you use the same laptop or computer to write assignments. It will manage your sources and input in the correct APA style. We have produced a short guide to help you. Take a look at the help pages available on the Microsoft Office site for more details on using this tool.
Endnote Online
Endnote is the tool Swansea University subscribes to, there is a desktop version for PCs on campus but the online version is very useful as you can use it anywhere that you have access to the internet. You can create your own library of sources and use the Cite While You Write feature in Word which will format your references in the APA style.
The library has produced an online guide to the web version of EndNote. We can provide further training if you would like to use it. We also offer 5 Days of EndNote (#su5doe). You can sign up to learn about EndNote Online in short, bite-size chunks.
Thanks for participating in 5 days of referencing (#su5dor). Remember, referencing help and advice is always available from your School of Management librarians. You can book a one-one appointment (also available via skype), email us, or call in the Library to speak with one of us.
Good luck with your assignments!