Zotero Citation Management Software

Zotero is an open-source application that allows users to collect, organize, cite, and share research sources. It has multiple components: a stand-alone program that runs on your computer, browser plugins that run in Chrome, Safari, or Firefox, word processor plugins for Word and LibreOffice, and mobile apps for both iOS and Android.

How it works: Save all your sources (library records, database articles, websites, books, journals, and more) to Zotero. As you import records into Zotero, check to make sure all the information about the source is complete and correct. Organize your sources into collections based on the projects or papers you are working on. Store your notes about your sources and quotes you like in Zotero as you are reading and researching. While you are writing your paper, add citations using the Zotero plugin for Word. Use Zotero to generate your bibliography at the end of your paper when you are finished writing.

Zotero can be a huge help for any writing and research project. It can also help you keep track of resources you are consulting in case you have a need to find them again for another paper, project, or sermon at a later time.

The Zotero Quick Start Guide offers a very helpful overview of the software and what it can do.

Watch the webinar recording for "Zotero Citation Management Software," a Hacks for Seminary and Beyond workshop that took place on November 2, 2016.

  Download our Zotero Handout (printable PDF)   

The Zotero application is available for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. For full usability, it is recommended that you also install the Zotero Connector plugin on your browser of choice: Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

For detailed installation instructions, visit https://www.zotero.org/support/installation. A helpful video from ISU Libraries can be found below.

After you install Zotero, you will want to create a free Zotero account. This will allow you to sync your Zotero library to their servers, creating a backup and allowing you to access your collections from any Internet-connected device. Visit https://www.zotero.org/user/register to create your Zotero account.

To use Zotero on a mobile device (smart phone or tablet), please consult https://www.zotero.org/support/mobile.

Zotero.org has a very good overview of how to add items to your Zotero library on their website:
https://www.zotero.org/support/getting_stuff_into_your_library

Two video tutorials are below. The video on the left shows adding items to Zotero standalone. The video on the right, developed by Zotero, gives a general overview of the many ways you can add items to your Zotero library using an older version of Zotero for Firefox. Using the latest version of Zotero standalone or Zotero for Firefox will look a little different, but should work on the same principles.

Instructions and screencasts for using Zotero with Schaff Library websites are also available below.

Add items from our library catalog to your Zotero library easily, using one of these methods:

• Click the "Save to Zotero" icon in your browser bar. From a search results page, this will look like a folder. Click the folder and select from the list the items you want to save to Zotero. From an item record page, the icon will look like a book. Click the book to save only that item.
• Add your search results to the cart or save to a list (library login required) to review before saving to Zotero. Once you are finished adding and reviewing what you have put in your cart or saved to your list, you can download the cart contents or list and save as an RIS file. Double-click the file to open it in Zotero and import the records at once.
• Save individual records by clicking "Save Record" and selecting RIS to download. Double-click the file you downloaded to open it in Zotero and import the record. This method is helpful for saving RIS files to a flash drive if you are using someone else's computer and you do not want to log in to your Zotero account remotely.

Add items from any of our EBSCO services to your Zotero library. These methods will work for EBSCO Discovery Service and any database accessible through EBSCOhost.

• Click the "Save to Zotero" icon in your browser bar. From a search results page, this will look like a folder. Click the folder and select from the list the items you want to save to Zotero. From an item record page, the icon will look like a page. Click the page to save only that item.
• Add your search results to the folder (EBSCO personal account login recommended) to review before saving to Zotero. Once you are finished adding and reviewing what you have put in your folder, you can download the records in the folder as a batch and save as an RIS file. Double-click to open the file in Zotero and import the records as a batch.
• Export individual records by clicking the "Export" button and selecting "Direct export in RIS format." Double-click the file you downloaded to open it in Zotero and import the record.

Project MUSE has limited integration with Zotero and adding items works a little differently. 

• The browser bar icon will only work when you are viewing an individual record. It does not work on a list of search results.
• To save and import a batch of records: First, save them in Project MUSE by clicking the link to "Save Citation" from the search results page or in the record view. Next, click the link for your saved citations in the upper-right corner of the site. Then, choose option 2 to export to EndNote. This will prompt a download of the RIS file. Double-click the file to open it in Zotero and import your records.

Oxford Biblical Studies Online is not a Zotero-friendly site, and we have to work a little harder to get articles from OBSO into Zotero.

• If you are using Chrome, you can right click the page you are citing and choose "Add to Zotero." This will create a web page item in your Zotero library with some basic information.
• In OBSO, click the "Cite" button at the top of the pane to the left of the article. This will open a popup window with sample citations. 
• In Zotero, change the item type to "Book Section." Copy and paste the missing information from OBSO's citation popup window into the Zotero item record. You may have to look at the end of the article for the author's name. Also, double-check the other fields.

It is possible to store your annotations in your Zotero records and use Zotero to create your annotated bibliography.

To use Zotero to manage your annotated bibliography, follow the instructions on this handy guide by Emory University Libraries.

The video below demonstrates how you can drag and drop from Zotero to create a reference in Google Docs. This also works for Pages (iCloud's word processing app), and any other text-based application where you would need to cite something.

Before you drag-and-drop, it is important to check the settings to make sure your citation will appear in the format you intend. Go to the Preferences, and bring up the Export settings. We recommend keeping the default setting on Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition (full note). Expect that you will need to edit the output from Zotero, regardless if this is a first full reference to your source or not.

Use this drag-and-drop method to bring a reference into your footnote. To generate your bibliography, use the method demonstrated in the "Citations and Bibliographies" video to the left.

• Select your sources in Zotero
• Right-click and choose "Create bibliography from items..."
• Make sure the correct style is selected, output mode is set to "bibliography," and output method is set to "copy to clipboard"
• Go to your document and paste the bibliography into the appropriate place
• Proofread the bibliography before sending off your document

As of May 2020, several Lancaster Seminary students have reported that the Zotero Plugin for Word is not installing automatically when the program is installed on a Windows computer. 

Links to Zotero Documentation that may be helpful:

• Word Processor Plugin Troubleshooting
• Manually Installing the Zotero Word Processor Plugin

Steps that might work if you are encountering this issue:

1. Verify that Microsoft Word and Zotero are installed on your Windows computer
2. Open the Windows File Explorer and navigate to this directory: Program Files (x86) > Zotero > extensions > zoteroWinWordIntegration@zotero.org > install
3. There should be two files, both called Zotero, in this directory. Right click on the second file and select Properties. Verify that the file extension is .dotm
4. Open Microsoft Word, click on the File menu and select Options from the panel on the right.
5. Select Advanced, then scroll down until you see the General section.
6. Click the File Locations... button in the General section
7. Highlight the Startup file and click Modify...
8. Bring up the File Explorer window with the Zotero extensions again. Right click on the second file (Zotero.dotm) and select Copy.
9. Return to Word. In the Modify Location window, right click in the white file area and select Paste. You won't see anything happen or appear. This is okay. 
10. Click the Cancel button on the Modify Location window, then OK on File Locations, then OK on Word Options. Close and exit Microsoft Word.
11. Reopen Microsoft Word. The Zotero tab should now appear as part of your toolbar.

Using Zotero to generate citations in a word processor is generally done with the Zotero plugin creating a link in your document that references your Zotero library. If at any point in the writing and editing process the link between your document and your Zotero library is broken, your citations will not generate.

To help determine what is wrong with your citations, please see: Why isn’t Zotero detecting my existing citations?

Please consult this page in the Zotero Knowledge Base for steps to take before sharing your document with someone else or before moving your work to a different word processor: Moving Documents Between Word Processors

 

 
Deaconess Myka Kennedy Stephens
Seminary Librarian and Assistant Professor of Theological Bibliography

Feel free to schedule an appointment with me to discuss your research needs. Click the button above to sign up for an available time.