Zotero is another great citation manager. Unlike EndNote, Zotero is a free resource. This guide explains the basics of Zotero, including saving and inserting citations. Be sure to visit the Zotero website for more advanced instructions.
Go to zotero.org to register for an account.
Zotero has has a web version and a desktop version. You can use one or the other, or both. We recommend having the desktop app on your personal computer. You can always access your account with the web version on the go.
Also download Zotero Connector to your browser. This will allow you to save any website or article not found through the library databases to your account.
When you find a resource you'd like to save, first make sure the Zotero desktop application is open on your computer.
From the Summon search, you can select "Save to Zotero" under the "More Actions" menu. This will download an .RIS file to your computer. Clicking on it will prompt the Zotero desktop application to confirm the import.
Other databases will have similar export options, which will usually download an .RIS file.
However, the easiest way to add articles to your Zotero account is by using the Zotero Connector plugin. Depending on the type of resource you are saving, the plugin icon on your browser will vary:
To use Zotero Connector, simply click the icon on your browser whenever you find a resource you'd like to save. You can also specify a specific folder in the dropdown menu. You can even save non-academic sources, such as websites and news articles.
After saving, the citation will appear in your Zotero account in both the desktop application and web versions. Depending on the type of resource you saved, the article PDF or URL will also save, so you can easily revisit the article later without having to search for it again.
Note: Always double-check the article information in the sidebar (authors, title, etc.) before exporting it to your paper. It may be omitting certain fields, which will make your citations incorrect. The "item type" field is also important, as that determines the type of citation that will generate. So for example, if your source is a journal article, make sure it is labeled as such, and the same applies to a book chapter, news article, etc. You can always update these fields if they are incorrect.
Zotero works with Microsoft Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice. When downloading Zotero for the first time, you may have been prompted to install a word processor plugin. If not, you can visit the downloader page to install them yourself. The first time you use the plugin, you may be asked to select a citation style (APA, MLA, etc.)
To insert a citation, select where in the sentence you'd like the parenthetical to appear, then click on the Zotero menu on the toolbar, then click "Add/Edit Citation." A search bar should appear, where you can search the citation you want by keyword, author, etc.
After selecting the right resource, it should insert itself into your sentence. Clicking "Add/Edit Bibliography" should insert the entire reference into your paper. If you have a "References" section already created, it should automatically place itself there in alphabetical order.
Note: the citation spacing or indentation may be incorrect based on your default Word formatting settings.
