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Citation Tools

Creating Bibliographies with Zotero

There are two primary ways to create a bibliography with Zotero: 

1) You can quickly create a bibliography based on a single item in your library, or based on a Zotero collection. You'll be given the option to choose the bibliographic style that you want, choose "Copy to Clipboard" and paste anywhere you like. See the video and screenshots at right. 

2) You also have the option to download and use one of Zotero's plugins to add citations to a document while you are writing. Zotero offers plugins for Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. 

Adding additional styles to Zotero

Zotero comes with the most common bibliographic styles, but many more are available to download.

To install a new style:

  1. Go to the Zotero Preferences menu (on a PC, this is under the 'Edit' menu', and on a Mac, this is under the 'Zotero' menu), and select the 'Cite' icon. Underneath the list of styles available to you, click on the small link that says 'Get additional styles..."
  2. This will open a new window with the Zotero Style Repository, where you can search for the name of the style you need. Be aware that style names which include punctuation may require you to use the exact punctuation in your search. For example, to find the style of the journal 'Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise' you must use an ampersand and search for "Medicine & Science" rather than "Medicine and Science."
  3. Download the style by clicking on it, and it will now appear in your list of options when choosing a style to use in Zotero. 
  4. If you wish to remove a style from your list of options, you can select the style from the 'Style Manager' list on the 'Cite' page of the Zotero Preferences window, and use the minus (-) button to remove it from your list. 

Creating Quick Bibliographies

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, select Copy to Clipboard, click OK and paste into your word processor.

Select an item in your Zotero library, right click, and choose 'Create Bibliography from Item'

Creating Your Bibliography While You Write

Zotero offers word processing plugins for Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. These plugins add a Zotero toolbar that allows you to add citations to your document while you write. 

The MS Word plugin will be automatically installed when you download and install the Zotero 5.0 app (you will need to restart Word if you had it open while you were downloading). Note that the add-in may look different or be in a different menu depending on which version of MS Word you are running and whether you are on a Mac or PC. Poke around if you can't find it! Look under 'tools' or for Mac users, check the little 'scroll' icon. See below for a screenshot of what it might look like in MS Word. 

To add a citation, click the first button ("Insert 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 third button ("Insert Bibliography"). Your bibliography will appear, and new citations will be added automatically. Change bibliographic styles with the last button on the toolbar ("Set Doc Prefs").