Epitome: iStock/psphotograph

You can insert a footnote in a Google Doc on the spider web, besides as in the Android and iOS Google Docs apps. For bookish writers and researchers, a footnote offers a style to cite sources or provide additional details.

You may type footnote information or insert a properly formatted citation with the Google Explore feature. Add-ons and other apps offer additional ways to manage and insert citations.

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How to add a footnote in Google Docs

You may manually add footnotes into a Google Medico on the web or in the mobile Google Docs apps.

While using Google Docs in a browser (Figure A):

1. Place your cursor at the betoken you desire to add a footnote.
2. Choose Insert | Footnote, or press Ctrl-Alt-F.
3. Type your footnote text.

Figure A

In Google Docs in a browser, place your cursor at the point you want to add a footnote, then choose Insert | Footnote.

Inside the Google Docs Android or iOS mobile apps (Figure B):

1. Tap to position your cursor where you desire your footnote.
2. Tap the + nigh the top of the screen to access the Insert menu.
3. Roll through the menu items that display, then tap on Footnote.
iv. Type your footnote text.

Figure B

In Google Docs on Android or iOS, tap the spot in your text where y'all want to add a footnote, then tap the + at the height of the screen, and so curl down and tap Footnote.

How to add a formatted footnote using the Explore feature

The Explore feature includes the power to add a properly formatted citation footnote in a Google Md on the web.

one. To access the Explore sidebar, either select the Explore icon (found in the lower right portion of the screen when yous have a Google Doc open) or become to Tools | Explore In A Google Md. The key combination Ctrl-Alt-Shift-I as well opens the Explore panel.

two. To cite a source, enter keywords and press Enter to search. If you already know the website you lot desire to cite, paste the link in the Explore search box.

iii. Select Web within the Explore sidebar to come across web search results instead of Cloud Search results.

iv. Past default, the arrangement will insert footnotes in Modern Linguistic communication Clan (MLA) style. To alter the format, select the three-vertical-dot menu in the Explore console, then cull MLA, American Library Association (ALA), or Chicago format (developed past the University of Chicago Press).

5. Place the cursor at the point you lot want to insert a footnote in your Google Doc; typically, this will be at the stop of a sentence or immediately post-obit punctuation, such as a period or a quotation mark.

6. Motion the cursor over the outcome you lot want to cite in a footnote in the Explore console, then select the quote icon displayed. The system will generate and insert a footnote number within your document, and identify the footnote at the bottom of the page (Effigy C).

Effigy C

On the web, the Explore feature in Google Docs helps you find and cite sources in MLA, ALA, or Chicago-style formats.

How to use add-on citation alternatives

At least iii major 3rd-party citation services offer Google Docs Add-ons that work with Google Docs on the spider web. To admission these services while in a Google Dr., select Add together-ons | Become Add-Ons | so enter "citations" in the search field.

Three of the most used and reviewed add-ons are EasyBib Bibliography Creator, Paperpile, and ProQuest Refworks (Figure D).

Figure D

Tertiary-party add together-ons give you access to commendation services in a Google Docs sidebar.

EasyBib Bibliography Creator lets you search for a book, periodical article, or website, then add items to a bibliography list for your document. When you're done, select the Add Bibliography To Doc push and all the citations from EasyBib will be added to the finish of your Google Physician. EasyBib as well offers a paid version ($ix.95 per month).

Paperpile offers a unmarried-stream search, so in that location is no need to differentiate betwixt sources. Enter your terms, then roll through the results. When you see the reference yous desire, choose Cite. Paperpile inserts a reference with a link to your resources stored on the visitor's website, and adds a commendation to the item in your document. You can follow the link to edit the details of the commendation. Paperpile offers paid versions for both academic and concern users.

ProQuest RefWorks requires that you sign in to apply the RefWorks add-on. If yous are a pupil, faculty fellow member, or staff of a college or university that has an active agreement with ProQuest, you may exist able to create a RefWorks business relationship to use the service to manage citations.

Additional citation management apps

For additional commendation management capabilities, consider Zotero or Citationsy (Figure E).

Effigy Due east

For additional citation direction capabilities, consider Zotero.org (left) or Citationsy.com (right).

Zotero is a gratuitous and open source citation direction app, with versions you tin can install and work with browser connectors, add as bookmarklets, or use solely in a browser.

Citationsy is a simple, ad-supported commendation tool bachelor to apply on the web as a Chrome extension or on Android or iOS.

Citation: More than a link

A web link isn't the aforementioned matter as a citation; over time, links on the web often break. When a link no longer works, the additional information that a citation provides—such as author, publisher, and publication date—makes it possible to track downward a cited piece of work. Equally important, a citation also acknowledges another person's work and helps protect a creator against potential plagiarism charges. To learn more about the merit of citations, come across Kathleen Fitzpatrick'south article for the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Futurity of Academic Mode: Why Citations Still Thing in the Historic period of Google.

Your thoughts?

What methods exercise you use to insert and manage footnotes and citations in Google Docs? Which citation direction add-on or app works all-time for you? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter (@awolber).


Epitome: TechRepublic/Andy Wolber