Import Text / Word Reference List into Reference Manager (ris format)

When collaborating on academic writing or organizing references from older documents, you often receive Word files or plain-text lists of citations without proper formatting or metadata. Manually re-entering them into Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley is time-consuming and error-prone.

The tool Citation Finder allows you to import raw citation entries, find the accurate, full reference data, and export them in a structured citation format — saving you time and improving accuracy.

You’re working with a co-author who sends you 30 citations in a Word document. Instead of manually searching and retyping each one, paste them into Citation Finder, confirm the matches, and download a clean .ris file for Zotero.

Link: https://citation-finder.vercel.app

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Enter Your Citations

• Copy and paste your citation(s) from a Word document, Google Doc, or plain-text file.
• Each citation can be a full or partial reference (e.g., “Lee & Chen, 2021, Journal of Community Psychology”).

2. Choose a Citation Format

Select your desired output format: 1) RIS (for Zotero, EndNote, etc.) OR 2) BibTeX

3. Click “Search for Matches”

• The tool will search databases (e.g., Google Scholar) to identify the best match for each entry.
• It intelligently matches based on author, title, year, and journal name.

4. Review the Matched Citations

• You will see full reference details:
  • Author(s), title, journal, volume/issue, year, DOI (if available)
• You can manually verify or edit if needed.

5. Download or Copy the Output

• You can download all matched citations in:
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • RIS (.ris)
• Ready for direct import into Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, or citation in your manuscript.