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Zotero

An introduction to the citation management software Zotero.

Creating References

zotero new item button, green plus The green plus button allows you to manually create new references if you cannot find the reference online.

However, it is generally faster if you use the Zotero Connector to clip citations from the web. Read on below under "Saving Citations" for more information on using this.

The video below provides a broad overview for how to create and save citations in Zotero. All information in this tutorial also applies to IU Libraries' resources.

Saving Citations

Selecting from a Single Source

Zotero allows you to save references from most library catalogs (including IU's), databases, and some regular web pages with one click. If Zotero detects that you're looking at a book or article, you'll see a book or page icon in your browser's address bar. Click the icon and Zotero will save the citation.

Image points out the icon in web browsers for importing books into Zotero and the corresponding loading screen in Zotero 5.0.

Selecting from Multiple Sources

If you're on a page of search results with many items, you'll see a folder icon instead. Click this to get a list of the items on the page, and check off the ones you want to save.

Image points out the icon in web browsers for importing multiple files in Zotero. The page shows multiple files detected on the page with the appropriate selection checked.

Adding Items by Identifier

Have the book in front of you and want to add it to your Zotero library without having to search for a citation? If you have a book's ISBN or an online article's DOI or PMID number, click the "Add Item by Identifier" button (appears as a magic wand Magic Wand Icon) within Zotero 7. Type in the book or article's number, and Zotero will automatically download its information and save it to your library.

Adding and Finding Full Texts

If you already have full-text PDFs of academic articles or book chapters saved elsewhere on your computer, Zotero will attempt to backsearch the web for their citation information (metadata) when you place them in your library.

You can add them to your library by dragging and dropping single items from your files, or, you can select "store copy of file" under the green plus button's menu in Zotero. Zotero should automatically attempt to make a citation to go along with your PDF once it is added, but if it does not, you can right click the PDF and select "Retrieve Metadata for PDF."

To have Zotero find full-texts off campus, make sure your general settings include our OpenURL resolver address: https://libkey.io/libraries/163/openurl

Then, you can use the "library lookup" option that is found in the far right menu of icons when you have an item selected in Zotero.

Library Lookup settings in Zotero, with described URL in the resolver field.

 

An arrow points to the "Lookup Engines" Menu in Zotero.