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Getting Started with Zotero

January 29, 2024

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Hello!

Lisa Becksford

Head of Learning Design Initiatives

Citation Manager Enthusiast

lisab5@vt.edu

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Plan for the session

  • We’ll cover
    • Getting Zotero
    • Adding items to Zotero
    • Organizing your references
    • Citing references with Zotero

Time for questions throughout - feel free to ask questions throughout the session!

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How this will work

  • Keep your microphone muted
  • Add questions to the chat as they come up
    • I’ll stop periodically to check the chat
  • The session is being recorded and you’ll receive a link to the recording and the slides tomorrow
  • Challenging to watch what I’m showing and follow along on your machine at the same time - I recommend just watching/taking notes for now
  • Slides have step-by-step screenshots

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Zoom poll: What’s your experience with Zotero?

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Why Zotero?

  • Free account with decent storage for free (can pay for additional storage)
  • Open source software
  • Syncs easily among different devices
  • Browser plug in works really well
  • Creating shared groups is really easy
  • Integrates with Google Docs - only major one that does
  • Integrates with desktop version of Word but doesn’t integrate with browser-based version of Word

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Getting Zotero

  • Download the desktop version and register for an account at zotero.org
  • Don’t need to use your VT email address
  • Don’t pay for additional storage unless/until you need it
  • Go ahead and install browser connector too!

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Adding items to Zotero

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Saving single item from Discovery Search (main search box on library website):

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Saving multiple items from Discovery Search (main search box on library website):

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Using browser connector:

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Using Google Scholar:

Note: you can also add items one at a time using the quotation marks below each reference, but adding too many items one at a time in a short period of time may make Google think you’re a bot and cut off your access.

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Existing PDFs on your computer:

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Manually:

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Organizing Your Library

It’s up to you!

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Creating new collections:

Drag and drop items into group

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Creating a subcollection:

Right click on the collection to which you want to add a subcollection.

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Tagging:

On an individual entry

All tags in library

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Searching your library:

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Citing References

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Adding references (MS Word):

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The reference will be added to your document wherever your cursor was.

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Changing citation style:

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Unlinking document from Zotero (do as last step):

Unlinking your citations will leave you with citations that are just text, with no connection to Zotero.

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Citing with Zotero in Google Docs:

Make sure that the browser extension is installed in your browser (the Google Docs extension should be automatically added).

To add a citation:

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Changing citation style:

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Unlinking document from Zotero (do as last step):

Unlinking your citations will leave you with citations that are just text, with no connection to Zotero.

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Sharing References with Others

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Additional Resources

  • Citation manager guide (tutorials, contact information): guides.lib.vt.edu/citationmanagers
  • Additional workshop in this series about integrating citation managers into your workflow
  • zotero-support-g@vt.edu
  • Google the name of the error message, etc.
  • Zotero customer support: zotero.org/support/.

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Thanks!

Any questions?

Please fill out survey (in chat).