46 Referencing Software

If you are doing a substantial piece of legal research, you may wish to use referencing software to help you manage your references and assist with formatting your citations.

While referencing software can be a time-saver, it does require an investment in time to set up and learn its intricacies. It is also helpful to have a strong understanding of your chosen referencing style so you can identify any output errors from the referencing software. For these reasons, it is best to consider using referencing software only if you are doing a significant piece of legal research and writing, such as in Honours or postgraduate study.

There are two main referencing software tools:

1. EndNote is a subscription bibliographic management tool. Most New Zealand universities have a subscription to EndNote and provide substantial EndNote support to their users. Note that in order to format your citations in the NZLSG style, you will also need to download the NZLSG output style from the University of Canterbury.^[1]
2. Zotero / JurisM is an open-source referencing tool. Juris-M is free reference management software that is based on, but separate from, Zotero and is designed for legal researchers. The University of Canterbury has created a specific Zotero style for the third edition of the NZLSG.^[2] In addition, Victoria University of Wellington has guidance on the use of Zotero^[3] and JurisM.^[4]