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Zotero

Open Source Citation Management Tool

How to Add Sources to Zotero

Make sure you have installed the Zotero Connector.

Once installed the connector will appear as an icon in your browser toolbar.

Sample Zotero icons

Various Zotero icons. Icons will change based on your current webpage (i.e. an article in JSTOR will show the article icon)

To add a source to Zotero, click on the Zotero icon in your browser toolbar.

Location of Zotero save reference icon

Zotero will save relevant information about the source into your Zotero Library, such as:

  • Author name
  • Item title
  • Page numbers
  • Journal title/volume (if applicable)
  • URL
  • PDF (if it is available from where the item was saved)
  • Tags and subject terms relevant to the item

This information will help you organize and access the source at a later time and provide citation informaiton.

Note: Depending on the website/database you are using, the information saved from Zotero might not be perfect. It is important to check what is saved into Zotero to make sure it is accurate.

 

Add PDFs to References

How to add a PDF (e.g. article) from your computer to a reference in Zotero

  1. Open Zotero
  2. Find the PDF (or any file) on your computer
  3. Drag PDF to item in Zotero.
  4. The file will now appear under Attachments

OR

  1. Open Zotero
  2. Right-click on reference
  3. Select Add Attachment in third column
  4. Add file
  5. Find PDF (or any file)
  6. The file will now appear under Attachments

Add References Manually

Manually add an item to your Zotero library:

  1. Open the Zotero program
  2. Select the green “New Item” () button at the top of the center column.
  3. Select the desired item type from the drop-down menu (e.g. book, book chapter, article, etc)
  4. An empty space (place holder) for the item type will now appear
  5. Enter the bibliographic information in the right panel
  6. The empty space will change with the new information.

Davidson College Library Research Guides are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Mailing Address: Davidson College - E.H. Little Library, 209 Ridge Road, Box 5000, Davidson, NC 28035