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Y'all can insert a footnote in a Google Doc on the spider web, as well equally in the Android and iOS Google Docs apps. For academic writers and researchers, a footnote offers a mode 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 Doctor 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 point you want to add together a footnote.
2. Choose Insert | Footnote, or press Ctrl-Alt-F.
3. Type your footnote text.

Effigy A

In Google Docs in a browser, place your cursor at the signal you want to add together a footnote, and so choose Insert | Footnote.

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

i. Tap to position your cursor where you want your footnote.
2. Tap the + near the top of the screen to access the Insert menu.
three. Whorl through the carte du jour items that brandish, 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 you lot want to add a footnote, then tap the + at the top of the screen, then roll downward and tap Footnote.

How to add a formatted footnote using the Explore feature

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

1. To admission the Explore sidebar, either select the Explore icon (found in the lower right portion of the screen when y'all have a Google Doc open) or get to Tools | Explore In A Google Dr.. The key combination Ctrl-Alt-Shift-I as well opens the Explore panel.

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

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

iv. By default, the organization will insert footnotes in Modern Linguistic communication Clan (MLA) style. To change the format, select the three-vertical-dot menu in the Explore panel, and so choose MLA, American Library Clan (ALA), or Chicago format (adult by the University of Chicago Printing).

5. Place the cursor at the signal you want to insert a footnote in your Google Doc; typically, this volition be at the end of a sentence or immediately post-obit punctuation, such as a flow or a quotation mark.

6. Movement the cursor over the result you want to cite in a footnote in the Explore panel, and then select the quote icon displayed. The organization volition generate and insert a footnote number within your document, and place the footnote at the bottom of the folio (Figure C).

Figure C

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

How to use add-on citation alternatives

At least three major third-political party citation services offer Google Docs Add-ons that piece of work with Google Docs on the web. To access these services while in a Google Doc, select Add-ons | Get Add-Ons | then enter "citations" in the search field.

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

Figure D

Third-political party add-ons requite y'all access to citation services in a Google Docs sidebar.

EasyBib Bibliography Creator lets yous search for a book, journal article, or website, then add together items to a bibliography list for your document. When you're done, select the Add Bibliography To Md button and all the citations from EasyBib volition be added to the end of your Google Medico. EasyBib also offers a paid version ($9.95 per calendar month).

Paperpile offers a single-stream search, so in that location is no need to differentiate between sources. Enter your terms, and then scroll through the results. When you encounter the reference you lot desire, choose Cite. Paperpile inserts a reference with a link to your resource stored on the company's website, and adds a commendation to the particular in your certificate. You can follow the link to edit the details of the citation. Paperpile offers paid versions for both academic and business users.

ProQuest RefWorks requires that you sign in to use the RefWorks add-on. If y'all are a student, faculty member, or staff of a college or university that has an active agreement with ProQuest, you may be able to create a RefWorks account to use the service to manage citations.

Additional citation management apps

For additional citation management capabilities, consider Zotero or Citationsy (Figure Due east).

Figure East

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

Zotero is a gratuitous and open source citation management app, with versions you can install and work with browser connectors, add together every bit bookmarklets, or utilise solely in a browser.

Citationsy is a unproblematic, ad-supported citation tool available to utilise on the web as a Chrome extension or on Android or iOS.

Citation: More than a link

A web link isn't the aforementioned thing as a commendation; over time, links on the web oft intermission. When a link no longer works, the additional information that a citation provides—such as author, publisher, and publication date—makes it possible to runway down a cited work. Every bit important, a commendation too acknowledges another person's piece of work and helps protect a creator confronting potential plagiarism charges. To learn more than about the merit of citations, see Kathleen Fitzpatrick'due south article for the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Future of Academic Mode: Why Citations Still Matter in the Age of Google.

Your thoughts?

What methods practice you utilize to insert and manage footnotes and citations in Google Docs? Which citation management add-on or app works best for you? Permit me know in the comments or on Twitter (@awolber).


Image: TechRepublic/Andy Wolber