Transportation Studies and Planning: Zotero

Zotero is free, open-source bibliographic software. It is an easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. 

Download it and it will be available everytime you open Firefox on your computer(s).  If you use  serveral computers, Zotero.org recommends that you download a copy of Firefox to your portable zip drive and use that copy of Firefox with whatever computer you access.

Even citation generators and bibliographic management software make mistakes.  You should understand the basics of a citation style so that you can recognize errors. 

• For the most trouble-free experience, use Zotero from your personal computer(s)

 

• Zotero only works with Firefox.  Download the most current version of Firefox

 

• Read the Zotero Quick Start Guide and watch the Intro to Zotero video below

 

• Download Zotero using the  button

 

• not showing in the lower right corner of your browser window?  Go to View in the browser toolbar and make sure that the Status Bar is selected

 

• Use the Zotero Support - it's really helpful

 

• Customize your Zotero preferences by clicking on the "Actions" icon
  
  • Under the General tab, check "Automatically attach associated PDFs and other files when saving items"
  • Under the Sync tab, enter your Zotero username and password

 

• Download the Word processor plugin to integrate Zotero and Microsoft Word on your computer(s)

 

• Saving Items to your Zotero Library from UW Libraries databases may differ from database to database.  Trouble may occur if a database interface changes.  Here are the steps to follow when saving items from EBSCO databases:
  • Conduct a search in an EBSCO database
  • Identify articles and save their citations from the results list screen or from a single document view 
  • Click to view the PDF
  • Click to Download the PDF (the PDF should open in a new tab)
  • Open your Zotero Library and click the "Create new item from current page"  icon.  This saves the PDF with a numerical file name in your Zotero Library.  Only download one PDF at a time!
  • Drag and Drop the PDF into the correct Item (citation)