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Process: Citation Managers

Zotero

Decorative bookshelf

Zotero is a free research tool that helps you gather and organize sources, including: citations, full texts, web pages, images, and other objects. Zotero allows you to share the results of your research in a variety of ways.

Get Started with Zotero in 5 Easy Steps

Download Zotero from Zotero.org

Step Two: Download Zotero (Standalone recommended)

Sync your Zotero Library with Zotero.org

Step Three: Sign-in & Sync Your Zotero Standalone

Mac users: Go to Zotero Menu & Choose Preferences.

PC users: Go to Edit Menu & Choose Preferences.

Download browser connectors from Zotero.org

Step Four: Download the connectors for your favorite browsers

Installation Links

The Zotero Interface

Click on the gold plus buttons to learn more about the zotero interface. 

Writing with Zotero

Installing a Zotero word processor plugin adds a Zotero toolbar to your word processor (in Word 2008 for Mac the script menu is used; in Word 2010, the Zotero toolbar is in the “Add-Ins” tab on the ribbon).

Zotero + Mac Word

Drag N Drop

Zotero can be used with Google Docs with drag n drop feature.  

  • To add a bibliography, simply select items in Zotero and drag them into the document.
  • To add a citation, hold the Shift key before dragging.
  • To use a different style, change your Quick Copy settings in the Export pane of the Zotero preferences.

 

Keyboard Shortcuts

Use Zotero's keyboard shortcuts to add citations and bibliographies to Google Docs.

Adding a Citation: To add an in text citation, highlight the reference in Zotero, and press Ctrl+Shift+A (Cmd+Shift+A on a Mac). Paste into Google Docs using Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on Mac) or right click and select paste.

Adding a Bibliography: To create a bibliography, highlight all the references in Zotero using Ctrl+Click (Cmd+Click on a Mac) to select multiple references, then press Ctrl+Shift+C (Cmd+Shift+C on a Mac). Paste into Google Docs using Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on Mac) or right click and select paste.

Set-up Library Lookup

The Library Lookup option lets you locate items in an online library catalog so you can track down a physical or online full-text copy of the resource. You'll need to go to Zotero Preferences and choose the General tab to manually enter CU's Open URL resolver: 

https://libkey.io/libraries/105/openurl