Review of Zotero

Review Part 1:  Downloading and saving reference materials to Zotero

Review Part 2:  Using Zotero to insert citations in Microsoft Word

Zotero Review:  Script for Screenr

Part I:  The name of the tool I am reviewing is Zotero.  You can find Zotero by opening your Firefox browser and typing www.zotero.org.  This tool can be used with Chrome and Safari, but that would be considered an advanced usage and is beyond the scope of this tutorial.  Novice users need to utilize Firefox as their browser.

The primary category for this tool is productivity.  Zotero is what I would refer to as a reference manager.  It is a free plug-in to your Firefox browser that allows you to store, organize and utilize your references.  It is particularly useful since it allows you to store information in a variety of formats including web pages, PDF documents, photos, and videos. Though there are many additional uses for Zotero, it’s most powerful function for me is as a reference manager and citation tool as I write scientific and legal scholarly works.  Zotero allows me to insert references in the proper format at the touch of a button.  For anyone who has every asked themselves, “Which paper am I supposed to cite here?” Zotero will change your life.

Before using this tool, you need to have basic computer skills.  You will require a computer with the Firefox web browser and an internet connection.

First, you need to visit www.zotero.org, and click the giant red Download now button.  You will then be taken to the Zotero 3.0 page where you will need to scroll down about ¼ of the way until you see Zotero 3.0.7 for Firefox.  Click the blue hyperlink.  You may receive a pop up message from Firefox asking you for permission to download the add on.  If you see this message, click accept.  You will see a message informing you that the add on is downloading.  You will then be asked if it is okay to install the add on.  Click install now.  Once the install is complete, you are left on the Zotero 3.0 page.

If you are new to Firefox and add ons, I recommend going to your menu tool bar and clicking on “tools” then “add-ons.”  Once there, you will see an option on the left for “extensions.”  If you click on extensions, you will see Zotero listed and you should see a message that Zotero will be updated after your restart Firefox.  You should click on “restart now” so that Zotero will become activated.  While there are other ways of restarting Firefox, including simply exiting the browser and reopening it, this is one way of becoming more comfortable working with add ons in your browser.  After you restart your browser, you will see that Zotero has updated to the latest version and is ready for use.  Note that you have options in this area including the option to disable or remove your add in, something you may want to do in the future.

Go ahead and click on the “x” of the add on tab to close the window.  You are now back on your Zotero home page.  Now we have the opportunity to try out Zotero.  I am going to start by going to Pub Med.  Since I am working on developing a residency program in obstetrics and gynecology in Liberia, I am going to search for a friend of mine’s article by putting in “Tita Africa.” I see the article of interest, so I click on the hyperlink.  I am taken to the abstract on the.  Note at the top of the screen in the address bar, there is what looks like a piece of paper.  If I hover over it, it says, “Save to Zotero.”  If I click it, you will see a red notification box in the lower right had corner that informs us the page is being saved.  If you then click on the word Zotero in the bottom right hand corner of your window, the Zotero screen will come up and you will see your saved reference.  If you click on the reference, you will see a great deal of additional information about the journal article saved in the right-sided window.  You will also notice that you have the ability to make notes about the reference you have saved in the window.  You can also create tags for your references, and ultimately to connect related references making it much easier to find and use your resources.

The next video will demonstrate how you can use Zotero to create citations in a word document.

Part II:  So now I have used Zotero to save an article about use of evidence based medicine in obstetrics in Africa.  I now want to demonstrate how I would use that saved reference as I write my scholarly article on Post-graduate training in OB/Gyn in Africa. 

First, I return to the Zotero home page at www.zotero.org.  Then I click on “documentation” and scroll down to where it says, “Generating Bibliographies, Citations and Reports.”  From here, I can then click on “word processor integration.”  On this page, click on “installation.”  Next pick the download that is appropriate for your operating system.  In my case, I will select “word for mac plugin 3.5.4.”  You will likely get a message from Firefox asking you if you are sure you wish to download this plugin.  Click allow.  The plugin will then be downloaded, and you will need to click, “install now.”  You will get another message from Firefox informing you that you need to restart Firefox before the plugin will be available.  Click “restart now.”

Open a word document.  You will see a menu that floats in the upper left hand corner.  If you hover the mouse over any of these buttons, it will tell you what they are used for.  Click on the icon that is located second from the right.  This opens your document preferences.  I am going to select endnotes in the Chicago Manual of Style format.  Then I will close the window.

I then start a new document and type whatever I want into my new scholarly essay.  I am now ready to use my saved reference.  I click on the first icon in the Zotero Word Plug In that is entitled “Zotero Insert Citation.”  I do not personally like having to search for my article, so click the arrow next to the Z and choose classic view that will shows me all of my references.   Select the appropriate reference and then indicate the page number in the box below and hit okay.  Your reference should then be visible.

All of my residents have to produce a scholarly work before they graduate.  This includes not only presenting a research project to the department, but also writing a paper suitable for publication in a journal.  Many of the residents have never written journal articles before, and most have not written papers since college.  They are busy professionals, and use of Zotero would allow them to be systematic and organized in their research and writing. I suspect that this would also be a significant time saver for them.  Most importantly, it would prevent what happens almost every year when a resident accidentally disposes of or loses all of their research in a freak accident.  What’s that you say?  What if the resident’s computer hard drive crashes?  Aren’t they in the same boat?  That’s the best news…Zotero allows syncing of your library to their server.  Thus, you can access your research on any computer with an internet connection.  Brilliant.

The advantages of using this tool in a teaching environment are that almost everyone in a teaching environment has the need to perform, save, manage, and utilize research.  It’s widely applicable and can be a real time saver.

The disadvantage of using this tool in a teaching environment is that all technology has the opportunity to be glitchy and Zotero is no different.  I used it when I wrote my Master’s thesis, and there were times that it would not format the citations correctly.  Sometimes it would not insert citations at all.  If you are under a deadline, this can be extremely frustrating.

Overall, Zotero is a useful and powerful research management tool that I would recommend.