Is it really worth it?
The literature review is the bedrock of any research paper. From bibliography writing to referencing, the lit review has to be properly organized for the entire research paper to flow accordingly. There are of course several ways to organize your annotated bibliography and eventually the entire literature review. But the use of automated software solutions has become quite popular over the last few years. But are these software solutions worth it?
What is a Literature Management Software?
A literature management tool is basically software that helps scholars and researchers organize and manage literature. In essence, these solutions give you a centralized place where you can access published works, cite them, and organize them in your bibliography.
These software solutions may also feature integration to digital libraries and other features. They are mostly used in large research projects but should be ideal for the average person. The following are some of the benefits associated with these software solutions:
Easy to use
If you ask any seasoned researcher, they will tell you that one of the most hectic things during the process of writing a paper is organizing the literature. After all, big papers would probably have hundreds of references.
It would therefore be very hard to keep track of each of them. However, the software simply takes away this burden. By automating the whole process, a literature management system allows you to organize your references in a simple and easy way.
Saves time
Since these software solutions are fully automated, it will take them a few minutes to sort out the library and organize it the way you want. In fact, one of the main reasons why these software solutions have become so popular is based on the huge amount of time they can save you while writing your research. Besides, the literature review can sometimes be boring and repetitive. The sooner you finish, the better and the software will, of course, make that happen.
Accuracy
Referencing rules in academic writing are very strict. For example, if you decide to use APA as your chosen referencing method, all in-text citations and the final bibliography will need to be in full APA. However, it's very easy to forget this if indeed your citations are done manually. Well, you won’t have this problem if you decide to use literature management software. The tools will get the citation 100% correct every time.
Are there any Drawbacks?
For all their benefits, automated research solutions will also have a few drawbacks. To start with, it takes time to learn how to use these solutions. Even though most developers will provide detailed guides on how to use the tools, most academic researchers will probably need a few weeks to fully grasp how everything works.
Secondly, some of these software solutions are not cheap. In fact, if you are engaged in long-term research work, you will need a monthly subscription. Finally, there are so many automated citation tools out there. Deciding which ones to use takes a lot of effort.
