Library Guides: EDC 568: Zotero

Zotero

Zotero is a free citation management application that manages citations and related research materials (such as PDFs). Zotero is available in both an online and desktop version. Both are free and can be easily synced together. To utilize all of the tools located within Zotero, you will need both the online and desktop versions.

Zotero will allow you to:

Collect, organize, and share citations
Easily insert your citations into Microsoft Word or OpenOffice documents
Format bibliographies quickly to many different formats
Organize PDFs utilizing up to 300MB of free web storage
Create a searchable directory of citations that includes descriptive data and your own notes
Share research notes and PDFs with a group
And much more

Contents

External Quick Start Guides

Using Zotero with Microsoft Word to Create In-Text Citations

Creating Reference Sections and Bibliographies

Getting Citation Information from Article Databases

UDiscover and Other EBSCO databases

Web of Science

PubMed

Google Scholar

Getting Started with Zotero

See the Zotero quick start guide for assistance getting going

MIT also has a fantastic Quick Start Guide (PDF)

Creating In-Text Citations Using Zotero and Microsoft Word

Step 1: Download the Zotero Microsoft Office plugin. Launch Zotero Desktop.

Step 2: In Microsoft Word, you will see a Zotero Tab. When you want to insert an in-text citation select "Add/Edit Citation."

Choose your citation sytle in Zotero

Step 3: Choose your citation style from the menu (such as APA, Chicago, IEEE, etc.).

Importing citations using Zotero and Word

Step 4: A search bar will appear. You can search and insert one or more references at a time.

Creating a Reference Section (or Bibliography) Using Zotero and Microsoft Word

Step 1: After you enter you in-text citations (see steps above) select the Insert Bibliography button in the Zotero tab within Microsoft Word.

Step 2: Your bibliography will appear, and new citations will be added automatically. You can change bibliographic styles with the "Document Preferences" button.

Getting Citation Information from Article Databases

UDiscover or Ebsco Databases

Step 1: From an individual record in UDiscover, click the Export button on the right side of the screen.

Step 2: Choose Save citations to a file formatted for: Direct Export in RIS Format.

Step 3: Click Save; a .ris file will be downloaded to your computer.

Step 4: In the Zotero client, go to FILE-->IMPORT and select the .ris file you just downloaded. The citation will now appear in your library.

Note: These instructions will work any other database with the EBSCO interface. Alternatively, you can select multiple records and batch export records found in your EBSCO folder.

Web of Science

Step 1: In the Web of Science, select files you wish to add to Zotero.

Step 2: Click on the dropdown box labeled, Save to Other File For...

Step 3: Select Save to Other File Formats.

Step 4: Under File Format, select BibTex; a .bib file will be created.

Step 5: In the Zotero client,go to FILE-->IMPORT and select the .bib file you just downloaded. The citation will now appear in your library.

PubMed

Step 1: In PubMed, choose the article you wish to add to Zotero. In the upper right corner click Send to: drop arrow.

Step 2: Under Choose Destination, click Citation manager. Then click Create File; a .nbib file wil be downloaded to your computer.

Step 3: In the Zotero client,go to FILE-->IMPORT and select the .nlib file you just downloaded. The citation will now appear in your library.

Google Scholar

Step 1: In Google Scholar find the article you wish to add to Zotero. Click the Cite button under its description.

Step 2: At the bottom of the Cite box that appears, click RefMan; a .ris file will be downloaded to your computer.

Step 3: In the Zotero client,go to FILE-->IMPORT and select the .ris file you just downloaded. The citation will now appear in your library.