To link the references to a database, it is also possible to make use of the free and open source citation manager Zotero. The required plug-in for Word is bundled with the Zotero software, so once you have installed Zotero, you will also have the functionality added to Word, for more information, consult Zotero's support pages.

For convenient gathering of references in the browser, you can also install Zotero connector for Browsers.

Zotero makes it easy to manage all relevant references in a database. Existing databases in all kinds of formats can be imported, and literature can be added in numerous ways (visiting a library catalogue, specifying DOIs or ISBNs). References in the database can then be grouped into collections and subcollections.