8 Google Docs Add-ons to Improve Your Citation and Bibliography

Google Docs has a simple built-in tool for adding citations. However, if you’re looking for a tool that supports more linking styles and features, these are plugins worth checking out.

Bibcitation is a powerful but completely free option. You get tons of citation styles and resource types right from the main Google Docs dashboard, from books and magazines to artwork, movies, and maps. Supported citation styles include not only common ones such as APA and MLA, but also styles used by specific journals and universities.

A bibliography is automatically attached to the document. You can also copy and paste individual citations as needed, which is possible for in-text references. In addition, the Bibcitation website allows you to create, save and export various bibliographies. Bibcitation even has a Chrome extension for automatic citation creation.

In addition to all the other great tricks available in Google Docs, with the help of extensions like this, the platform can become your ultimate academic workspace.

Download: Bibcitation for Google Docs (Free)

Paperpile is a great app for storing, organizing and annotating your references in one place. It has a free 30-day trial so you can familiarize yourself with the system before investing. You then choose between an academic and a business package.

However, the completely free Paperpile add-on for Google Docs would be sufficient if you just want to find and add links to Google Docs documents.

After installing Paperpile, use keywords, DOIs, URLs, and more to search for resources. You can link to them in your favorite style in the text and below. Navigation is more complex than Bibcitation, but it is more versatile.

Paperpile members can upload some files, including BibTex and RIS, but there are also web browser add-ons, team folders, and ways to manage your references and PDFs.

Download: Paperpile for Google Docs (Free, Paid)

Another professional and partially free option is Sciwheel. Designed for academic users, it is a reliable platform for searching and managing your references. It focuses on sources like PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Sciwheel database, so the scope is less broad than other plugins. However, it supports a large number of citation styles.

The basic free plan lets you quickly insert and format citations in Google Docs and Microsoft Word for up to three projects. You can get more done by taking advantage of the web’s features, such as browser extensions and an efficient online library, to organize yourself or your team.

A 30-day trial of the Sciwheel premium package brings you unlimited storage, smart designs, and faculty tools. All of this is then available for $6.99 per month, but students also get discounts.

Download: Sciwheel for Google Docs (Free, Paid)

In Google Docs, Legal Citation Assistant earns the respect of users who need help with law-related documents. Since the law has its own special system of references, this type of tool is extremely useful.

On the plus side, the software is free and up-to-date with legal citation methods. In addition to case law and legal materials, you can add books, articles and websites. Then edit the text and placement of the citations in the document.

However, Legal Citations Assistant is not intuitive. You must manually enter the source information and list your references one by one in your footnotes or bibliography. Although it puts the details in the correct order, this process is not ideal for writers in a hurry.

Download: Legal Citation Assistant for Google Docs (Free)

Reference Organizer is a simple free plugin for adding and organizing citations. It offers four citation styles: IEEE, MLA, APA, and Chicago.

Select the link style and source type (book, journal article, or web page) and enter the details. The reference organizer creates a citation and you can copy and paste it into a Google Docs document.

The plugin can also organize all your references in alphabetical order. After adding references, select all references and click on Organize references. Voilà! Your references are listed alphabetically.

Although a handy extension, Reference Organizer doesn’t offer many features or a selection of citation styles.

Download: Reference Organizer for Google Docs (Free)

Scribble Writer is another option if you want to create bibliographies automatically. The plugin works with a Scrible account – a tool for saving and annotating your research resources.

First, create a Scrible account, add your sources there, and mark the sentence/paragraph you want to cite.

You can access and cite these resources from the Scrible sidebar in Google Docs. When you cite your sources, Scrible automatically adds a bibliography to the end of the document (only for users with free EDU or paid plans).

One limitation, however, is that Scrible only offers three citation styles with its free EDU plan. The paid plan costs $35 per year. Although it works a little differently, Scrible is a great tool for saving and citing your sources.

Download: Scrible Writer for Google Docs (Free, Paid)

Keenious is a plugin that can help you find relevant references, not just insert them.

Open the Keenious addon sidebar and select Explore with text. It will find various documents that you can cite in your document. When you find a suitable source, click on menu icon and select a citation style. Keenious creates a citation that you can copy and paste into your document.

Even better, you can find quotes for specific sentences. Highlight any sentence and click on search icon. Keenious will find the right resource for you.

Although it supports all popular referencing styles, unlike Bibcitation there is no extensive collection of styles. Its free plan only shows you ten sources. If you want more, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan, which costs $10 a month.

Download: Keenious for Google Docs (Free, Paid)

For apps that leave you with a lot of links, or if you like to write them yourself, a simple add-on like Google Docs Ruled Paragraphs can come in handy.

Just reference your bibliography and select the entire section. Then use Sorted Paragraphs to arrange them in ascending or descending order. Be aware that this is the first letter of each paragraph, so if its structure is complicated, double-check your bibliography for errors.

Download: Lined Paragraphs for Google Docs (Free)

If Google Docs isn’t your primary work platform, you can expand your search for citation and bibliography apps to include other methods, browsers, file types, etc. There are a number of reference apps for Android that can help with your referencing needs.