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Zotero: A Beginner's Guide

Creating Your Bibliography: Straight From Zotero

It's easy to create a bibliography from your Zotero library. Select the citation style from Zotero preferences (check the requirement for your assignment/course) for example in many Engineering courses the preferred citation style is IEEE citation style. If you do not see your preferred style, select Get Additional Styles

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.)

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 icon "Insert Citation" on the toolbar. Select the reference you want to cite and click OK. Zotero will add the citation at your cursor.

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

 

 

Integrating Zotero And Word Citations

The following video shows how to integrate in text citations from your Zotero library and create a bibliography from each citation you have used in your text

Setting Up Your Cite Preferences

The presenter of the above video uses the Classic view when making a selection to cite a reference. "Classic View" is not the default option when you download Zotero, but it is a useful option to set up as your preferences:

In Zotero Select Edit >> Preferences In popup Window select Cite Select the Word Processor tab Check the "Classic Add Citation Dialog" option.