When it comes to sizeable scientific projects, in particular, it can be hard to keep track of all the resources that you have consulted. Reference management programs enable you to log all your sources, thoughts and citations and then insert them into your written work at the click of a mouse. These programs also compile your bibliography automatically.
Our library team is happy to help you using Citavi and Zotero.
Reference management using Citavi
Register and download for Windows
If you use Windows as the operating system on your computer, you need to start off by registering with Citavi.
You must use your university email address to register!
Once you have done so, you can download Citavi here.
You need to confirm the licence for our desktop & web bundle in your Citavi account under your profile.
Click on “Licences”, select desktop & web bundle, and request a confirmation email from Citavi to your university email account.
Register and download for other operating systems
Working with Citavi Web
If you use an operating system other than Windows, you need to start off by registering with Citavi using your university email account.
After that, launch Citavi Web.
You need to confirm the licence for our desktop & web bundle in your Citavi account under your profile. Click on “Licences”, select desktop & web bundle, and request a confirmation email from Citavi to your university email account.
Mac users can activate the Citavi Assistant.
Please bear in mind before starting to work with Citavi Web that the Mac version doesn’t (yet) offer the same, full range of functions as Citavi for Windows: See missing features.
In particular, the Citation Style Editor is not available – so styles cannot be individually adjusted in Citavi Web; nor is it possible to transfer citation styles created in Citavi for Windows to Citavi Web.
This means that students in the Faculty of Social and Health Studies who aren’t using a Windows-based computer won’t be able to use the citation style provided in the Moodle Infopoint in Citavi.
Alternatively – virtual machine
It is possible to use the full features of Citavi for Windows on a Mac via a “virtual machine”.
Further information can be found here.
Training and further information about Citavi from the library
At the start of each semester, we run Induction training on managing sources with Citavi. Don’t miss the chance to sign up!
We offer one-on-one advice in our Citavi consultation hours all year round. Sign up at schulung(at)hs-kempten.de.
You can find further details in our Moodle course.
In addition, Citavi Support contains numerous helpful video guides, FAQs, step-by-step instructions and other material.
What happens when I leave Kempten University of Applied Sciences?
The site licence for Citavi covers all members of the university for the entire calendar year, until 31 December – as long as you are either a student or member of staff at Kempten University of Applied Sciences.
End of Citavi Free
Citavi’s product and pricing model changed at the end of May 2021.
Previously, there had been the option to use a full-feature version called “Citavi Free” without a licence and free of charge – the only restriction being a cap limiting the number of sources to 100. This was mainly relevant for graduates wishing to continue to access the Citavi projects that they had set up during their studies. This free version no longer exists.
If you are not (or no longer) a member of Kempten University of Applied Sciences, instead you can
- either take out a 30-day test licence free-of-charge for Citavi 6;
- or work with Citavi 5 for Windows (which still has the Citavi Free model). This would potentially mean having to convert any Citavi-6 projects into Citavi-5 format. (Citavi 5 doesn’t support cloud-based projects);
- orpurchase your own licence for Citavi 6 and/or Citavi Web.
Data protection
Citavi was taken over by the U.S. company QSR International in 2021. In terms of EU Data Protection Law, the United States of America are not regarded as a secure third country. This means that your personal details might be passed on to the United States.
We cannot bear any influence over how your information is processed.
You are unsure which program you should use?
Our fellow librarians at TU Munich have compiled a thorough overview of the advantages, disadvantages and features of various reference management programs.
Reference management using Zotero
As an alternative to Citavi, we recommend a free, open-source, platform-independent program for organising research called Zotero.
Zotero can be used with all operating systems and has apps for Android and iOS.
You can use any email address to register with Zotero.
As you are not bound by a campus licence, your projects remain accessible after you leave Kempten University of Applied Sciences.
To get up and running with Zotero, we recommend the following:
Register
You don´t need to register with Zotero.
However, if you´d like to work with the Zotero cloud or do group projects, you need to register here.
You are unsure which program you should use?
Our fellow librarians at TU Munich have compiled a thorough overview of the advantages, disadvantages and features of various reference management programs.
