Reference Management

Zotero exists as a desktop application, a browser plugin, and a website in order to help users integrate information across online and offline platforms. It can store conventional bibliographic information - titles, authors, publishing dates, etc. - as well as metadata, personal notes, links, and PDFs. Zotero can generate bibliographies and in-text citations based on users’ stored items. Plugins are also available for Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and LibreOffice, allowing users to create in-text citations and bibliographies within their word processor of choice. Zotero is open-source and free to use. More information about what sets Zotero apart from other citation management tools can be found on the “Why Zotero?” page.

Zotero Installation

Zotero is very easy to download and install. Go the Zotero download page and click download (it should already be set to your correct operating system).

Next, make sure to download the Zotero connector for your browser as well so you can pull citations from online sources.

When Zotero downloads, it should automatically install the Word add-in that will let you cite directly in your document and generate bibliographies. If you restart word and their is no Zotero tab at the end of the toolbar, go into the Zotero program and navigate to Zotero > Preferences > Cite and select the tab Word Processors in that window. There you will find an option to download the Word add-in.

In-text Citations and Bibliographies

• There are many ways to generate citations through Zotero—you can choose one based on your needs:
  • Use the Word/Google Docs plug in to cite directly in your text and create a bibliography automatically from those citations. N.B. Make sure to edit the bibliographic information only in Zotero, not in the document in which you are writing, as it will update from Zotero every time you open the document.
  • Right click on a collection or selected references to create a bibliography on the fly. This is useful if you do not need in text citations and rather just a reference list!
  • Drag a reference into your word processor or hit cmd/ctrl+ shift + C to quickly input a single reference. Change your preferred reference style for "quick copy" in Preferences under Export.
  • If you have highlighted text within a PDF saved in Zotero, you can drag that text into a document and it will generate a quick in-text citation along with the quote. This won't however allow you to create a bibliography from that citation.