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Zotero

Zotero is a fantastic tool that collects, manages, and cites research sources. It's free and easy to use.

Creating Your Bibliography: Straight From Zotero

It's easy to create a bibliography from your Zotero library.

Select the references or collections you want to include. Hold the control key and click to select multiple items. Right-click one of the selected items and choose Create Bibliography. Choose the bibliographic style you want, and select the output format: Save as RTF or HTML, copy to clipboard or print. (The RTF file format is compatible with all word processors.)

Or you can just drag and drop references from Zotero into your document! They'll turn into fully formatted citations. This works with any word processor including Google Docs.

Creating Your Bibliography: While You Write

​Zotero offers word processing plugins for Word and OpenOffice. The plugin adds a Zotero toolbar to your word processor that allows you to add citations to your document while you write.

To add a citation, click the first button ("Add/Edit Citation") on the toolbar. Search for the reference you want to cite and press Enter. Zotero will add the citation at your cursor.

At the end of your paper, click the "Insert Bibliography" button. Your bibliography will appear, and new citations will be added automatically. Change bibliographic styles with the "Document Preferences" button.

The toolbar looks different on different operating systems and versions of Word. Mousing over the toolbar will pop up each button's function if they're not clearly labeled.

NOTE: Zotero does not work with the online version of Microsoft Word, just the program, which Baylor students can download for free at http://portal.office.com when they log in with their Baylor credentials.

Zotero plugin for Word (Mac)

Depending on the version of Word for Mac that you have on your computer, you might find the toolbar in a few different places.

Word for Mac 2015 has tabs, and the Zotero toolbar shows up on the "Add-Ins" tab, as shown below:

Zotero plugin for Google Docs

The Zotero writing and citing function for Google Docs is now supported!   Google Docs support is part of the Zotero Connector for Chrome and Firefox and requires the Zotero program to function.

The Zotero Connector adds a Zotero menu to the Google Docs interface:

It also adds a toolbar button for one-click citing:

Adding other citation styles to Zotero

Zotero installs with only a few bibliographic styles, but many more are available to download.

To install a Zotero style:

  1. Go to the Zotero Style Repository page in Firefox.
  2. Search for the name of the style you need.
  3. Click the Install link next to the style, then the Install button to confirm.

The new style will appear in Zotero's style lists.

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