CiteULike is a free, web-based bookmarking tool for the classification of online research papers, which opened in November 2004. Like other reference management software such as Connotea or 2collab, it is an example of a Web 2.0 site, combining features like RSS feeds and the possibility to import scholarly articles through their BibTeX entries.
References can be stored individually, to form a personal library, or as a group, where users will contribute to the collecting and sharing of publications related to a particular subject. This content is available to anyone and can be properly arranged and easily located with the incorporation of tags and a voting system, which contributes to the social aspect that makes CiteULike one of the most popular resources in the academic community. According to data observed by its own creators, more people end up compiling material from the bibliographies of other users than those who resort to exporting from external sources, thus proving the success of the service as a network. As of today’s date, however, the matching device shows some problems in identifying duplicate uploads when each of them comes from a different origin, despite their providing the very same text.
Besides its function as an organizer of bookmarks, the capture not only of the URL but also of the metadata concerning a newly-added file (information on the name of its author, editors, publisher, number of pages, etc.) allows for the automatic generation of citations for such papers in any common format, ranging from APA to Chicago or MLA styles.
References:
- CiteULike: Frequently Asked Questions (2010). In CiteULike. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
- CiteULike (29 November, 2009). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
- Interview with Kevin Emamy (January 30, 2009). In Nature Network, Gobbledygook, by Martin Fenner. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
- Citeulike: A Researcher’s Social Bookmarking Service (April 30, 2007). In Ariadne, Issue 51, by Kevin Emamy and Richard Cameron. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
- CiteULike and Connotea: Linklogging and Tagging Go Academic (February 10, 2005). In Corante – Many-to-Many, by Seb Paquet. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
