Zotero is a free, easy to use software which help the researchers to collect, save, manage and cite bibliographic information about the items (books, journal articles etc.) you find on the web. It also works with word processing programs to help you easily cite your sources as you write.
When you visit a page that Zotero recognizes as a bibliographic item, such as an item in a library catalogue or database, an icon will appear in your browser's toolbar on the right top (as showed in red circle in the screenshots below). The appearance of the icon depends on the type of resource being viewed.
When you click on the icon, information about the item you are viewing will be automatically entered into your Zotero library.
If you are on a web page that Zotero can not identify as a particular type, you will see a generic page icon (showed in red circle in the screenshot below). Clicking on this will add a basic entry (often just the URL and the date accessed) for the page to your Zotero library, along with a snapshot of the page.
If you need to add an item for which you have no online record, you can add the item manually using the "new item" button (the green circle with a plus sign), and choosing the type of resource that you want to add.
Once you have selected the appropriate document type, details about the document may be entered in the right-hand panel.
When you save an item to Zotero, look at the data that is being saved. Zotero may have missed something that you need (like the abstract) or recorded data incorrectly (e.g., forenames and surnames mixed up, title in all caps). It is easier to fix mistakes like this when you are collecting the data that it is to go back later when you are trying to put together your bibliography.
Once you have items saved in Zotero, you can create a bibliography from your items by selecting the items you want to include, right clicking, and choosing "Create Bibliography from Selected Items."
This will open a dialog window that will ask you what style you want to use and what you want to do with the bibliography. If you choose "Save as RTF," you can then paste the bibliography into a Word document.
Shortcut: If you are dealing with a small number of references, you can just drag-and-drop citations from Zotero into your word processing program. If you use this method, make sure you check the formatting. Italics and hanging indents may not come through.
You may need to use different bibliographic styles for different classes. Zotero lets you switch between styles easily. Your citation information is saved in a neutral format and can be converted on-the-fly to whatever style you need. From a single Zotero library, you can generate bibliographies in any of Zotero's thousands of styles.
In the "preferences" pane of Zotero, you can choose a default style, which you can change at any time.
If you need a style that is not listed in this window, click "Get additional styles..." to visit Zotero's massive style repository, where you can download any style you need.
Zotero can work with your word processing program (Microsoft Word or Open Office) to help you with in-text citations.
Open your Zotero preferences and look at the "Cite" tab to make sure you have the correct add-in for the word processing software you're using. If you are using Zotero for Firefox, you will need to download the add-ins.
When the add-in is installed, Zotero tools will be available from within your word processor. The appearance of these tools differs based on software versions and platform. The screenshots below show Zotero Standalone being used with Microsoft Word.
In Word, you should see an "add" icon within Word. The Zotero tools are displayed as icons in this tab. You will need to have Zotero open to use these tools, even though you will be working primarily in Word.
Probably the most important tool is "insert citation." This allows you to add in-text citations as you write. When you click this button, you will be presented with a search window where you can search for and select the paper you want to cite. Zotero will then add an in-text citation to the paper. (The first time you use this tool in a given document, you will first be asked to choose a style, and then you will see the search box.)
It is best to add all of your in-text citations with Zotero. Zotero then knows what you have cited, so when you finish your paper you can just click the "Insert Bibliography"button and Zotero will create a reference list consisting only of those items you have cited in-text.
