Citation Management Software: Citations Using Microsoft Word

While Word does have a built-in citation tool, it is not as robust as other citation software.  It will produce decent citations for basic sources in APA (e.g., books, articles, websites) but more complex sources (e.g., conference proceedings, journal articles, images) or styles (e.g., IEEE) are often incorrect and very difficult to edit.

USE WITH CAUTION AND ALWAYS CHECK AGAINST THE LIBRARY'S CITATION GUIDES AND/OR OFFICIAL GUIDELINES.

Microsoft Word provides a basic citation management system. 

Pros

• You do not have to learn additional software or load plug-ins
• Provides in-text and bibliography formatting
• Stores citation information for use in future documents

Cons

• You cannot annotate or highlight documents so no added value
• No collaboration or sharing features for work with others
• No tagging or searching of citations which limits ability to find resources in large list