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A Guide to Good Referencing Skills

About Zotero

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research.

You can download Zotero from https://www.zotero.org/download/.

Be sure to also install Zotero Connector, a browser extension that allows you to capture and save references from webpages with a simple click. 

With Zotero, you can: 

Add references to Zotero library:

Create in-text citations + bibliography in Word:

Import citations from databases

Import citations from Web of Science - Export BibTeX file

 

  1. Select the articles
  2. Click "Export"
  3. Choose "BibTeX" format

 

  1. Select record content & then "Export"
  2. Open the .bib file to import the reference(s) to Zotero
Import citations from Google Scholar - Export BibTeX / EndNote file
   

 

 

  1. Click on " Cite on the interested article
  2. Click "BibTeX" or "EndNote"

If "BibTeX" is chosen: 

  1. Copy-paste all text in Notepad, and save it in .bib file format
  2. Open the .bib file to import references

If "EndNote" is chosen (more preferred): 

  1. Directly open the downloaded .enw file with Zotero to import references

 
Import citations from PowerSearch - Export BibTeX file

 

  1. Click on (") on the interested article
  2. Click "EXPORT BIBTEX"
  3. Choose encoding "UTF-8" if the references are in Chinese, Japanese, Korean. 
  4. Download the file
  5. Open the .bib file to import the reference(s) to Zotero

Import citations using Zotero Connector

Other than exporting BibTeX file, you can also use Zotero Connector to capture references directly from the web. This will be very useful when platforms do not offer an "export BibTeX" button, especially for sources beyond traditional research outputs like journal articles or books. 

Example of importing a news article from the web
  1. On the article's page, click on Zotero Connector icon  (will change depending on content type)
  2. Zotero will auto-save the currently open website (in this case, a news article) into your Zotero library. If you have created folders in Zotero, you can choose a folder to save to. 
  3. A citation for this news article has been created in your library.

Import citations from PDF

If you already have a few PDFs in hand, this way helps you quickly add the references in Zotero.
 

 

  1. Drag and drop the PDF(s) into your Zotero library
  2. Most reference(s) will be auto-recognized and added to the library

If this does not work with your PDF, try manually create.

 

  1. You can also read PDF directly in Zotero. The reader also support highlight, annotation and comment features.

Manually create or edit a citation

Images typically do not provide a citation button. In these cases, you'll need to create the reference manually. 

Check here for basic rules of citing images in APA.

 

  1. Click "+" to add a new reference
  2. Choose "Artwork" as the reference type.

Find “Artwork” from More if it’s not on the list

 

  1. Manually input the required fields for citing an image in APA style: title, creator, medium, date, source and URL. 

Sometimes, the imported or captured references may not be 100% accurate. In this case, you'll need to make some manual edits.

Example of editing a news article citation

e.g. Newspaper title needs edits

 

  1. Spot errors (do not directly change in Word!)
  2. Go to source record in Zotero, double-click to edit the respective field
  3. Go back to Word, click "Refresh". The reference will be auto-updated. 

Create citations and reference list (or bibliography) in Word

Zotero automatically installs word processor plugins when first launched. 

 

  1. Place the cursor at the place you want to add a citation
  2. Click "Add/Edit Citation"
  3. Select the citation style (only need to select once for one document)

 

 

  1. In the pop-up search box, search for the reference you want to cite
  2. Select the reference and hit Enter
  3. The reference is auto-inserted, following the chosen citations style.

 

 

  1. To create a reference list at the end, click "Add/Edit Bibliography"

Click "Refresh" to update the list when there are new references cited in text.

To quickly generate a reference list or bibliography without linking to citations: 

Simply select the references, right-click, and select "Create Bibliography from Items...". 

Select the designed style, and "Copy to clipboard", then paste into Word. 

 

Note:

This bibligraphy appears in free text format, without any links to in-text citations. This means any further changes to citations (additions or removals) need to be done manually. 

 

Create an Annotated Bibliography

Zotero does not have a specific field designed for annotations. However, there are two workarounds to create an annotated bibliography.

Method 1:

Use "Create bibliography from Items..." (see steps above) to create a free text bibligraphy. Then add annotations under each reference.

This method is quick but not ideal for future changes. 

Method 2: (Recommended)

Use the "Extra" field in Zotero to add annotations and apply APA 7th edition (annotated bibliography) style. 

With this method, annotations stay with their references and can be reused in different works. 

Add notes to individual references

 
 

  1. Add your notes under "Extra" field. 

  2. Right-click and "Create Bibliography from Items..."
Add new style
 
  1. Click "Manage Styles..."
     
  2. Then "Get additional styles..."

 
  1. Search for "annotated", you will find "APA 7th (annotated bibliography)" in the result. Select it. 
     
  2. This new style has been added. 
Create an annotated bibliography

You can now create in-text citations and bibliography following steps here. Make sure you select "APA 7th (annotated bibliography)", and the annotation will appear under their respective references. 

This method maintains the linkage between in-text citations and bibliography entries, which makes future changes easier. 

  

OR: 

 

  1. Select the references and click "Create Bibliography from Items..." again.
     
  2. Choose "APA 7th (annotated bibliography)" style, Copy to clipboard. 
     
  3. Paste into Word. All annotations will appear under their respective references.
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