## 5.4 : Tools

Citing sources according to the APA guidelines is often difficult if you have no experience doing so. Microsoft Word can help with this, and there is also bibliographic software - specialist software that can greatly facilitate the proper handling of sources in papers and publications.

#### 5.4.1 : Source citation in Word

Microsoft Word 2013 and 2016 offer the possibility to help you with citing sources according to the APA guidelines via a special menu. The user only needs to enter the the details of the source consulted (book, article, website, etc.). A brief explanation of the use of this option:

Add a quote or paraphrase

- In your Word document click on the References tab
- Click on the arrow next to Style and select APA (this is probably already selected)
- Click Insert Citation and then Add New Source
- Fill in the citation details (check the example at the bottom of the screen) and click OK
- Your reference will now appear in your text

Create a bibliography

- In your Word document click on the References tab
- Click on Bibliography and then click Insert Bibliography
- Only the sources that you added by using the Manage Sources button are included in your bibliography.

For more information, click the Microsoft Office Help button (the question mark in the upper right of your document) and type in APA in the search box. To see some examples, you can take a look at APA guidelines with Word.

Note: the references Word uses are not always done strictly according to the APA guidelines as stated on this website. This is partly because the Dutch translation sometimes is too literal. For instance, Word sometimes uses different terms and puts the month before the day when listing dates. Make sure you enter your citation details correctly, because mistakes are not automatically corrected by Word.

#### 5.4.2 : Bibliographic software

Source: Mendeley

To facilitate the correct processing of sources in papers and publications, you can use specialized bibliographic software, such as Mendeley.

Mendeley

Mendeley is a reference manager. With a reference manager you can easily:

- Save
- Organize
- Retrieve
- Import/Export

your sources. It works largely automatically, which saves you a lot of time compared to processing your sources manually via Word.

The Library guide Mendeley explains all the steps, where to find and install the software on your computer, how to enter sources and how to organize the sources in Mendeley. You will also learn how to process sources in your Word file and create a bibliography.