Research Guides: Zotero: Citing Sources

Citing with Zotero

There are two ways to cite references using Zotero: Quick-Citing and the Word Plug-In

Word Plug-In

This Zotero feature requires Microsoft Word (if you do not have Word, skip to Quick-Citing below)

Open Word, or restart Word
- Once you install Zotero, the Word Plug-in will cite automatically)
Locate the plug-in in Microsoft Word
- Look for a toolbar, similar to the ones below
  - Depending on your version of Microsoft Word, this might be in different places—look either under Add-Ins, under Tools, or for a small pop-up window

Start citing
- Create an in-text citation using the insert citation button [#1 in figure above]
  - Select a citation style
  - Search or select the citation in your Zotero Library
- Generate a bibliography [#2 in figure above] (this requires at least one in-text citation)
  - To change the style you cited in, click on the Doc Preferences [#3 above]
  - If you need additional styles you can download them at the Zotero Style Repository: https://www.zotero.org/styles

Quick-Citing

Right-click or Control click on a source in your Zotero Library (use shift to select multiple sources)  
Select “Create a Bibliography from Item” from the drop-down list  
- To create an in-text citation, use the Citations output
- To create a reference list, select the Bibliography output
Choose an output method (Copy to Clipboard is easiest for pasting directly into a document)
- Paste into a document or open the document (if output was RTF or HTML)

ZoteroBib

ZoteroBib is a interactive web tool that lets you create citations using a title, URL, ISBN, DOI or other identifiers to create citations and bibliographies.

Go to zbib.org to use the tool.

Select a Citation Style

Zotero has 12 default citation styles, but you may download others (over 8300 styles available).

To set your default style:

Go to Zotero Desktop
Select Options/Preferences in
In the new window select the Export tab
Select style from drop-down menu
Ok
NOTE: If style is not in list, follow directions below

Download other citation styles

Find a style on this page, www.zotero.org/styles
Select the style and download the file
When you open the file Zotero will add it to your default style options.

Making Annotated Bibliographies using "Nature Biotechnology" and "Journal of Immunology"

Nature Biotechnology
Journal of Immunology

To create an annotated bibliography using the nature biotechnology citation style, follow the below steps:

1. Install the nature biotechnology citation format.

Zotero does not have the nature biotechnology citation style pre-installed. However, it's relatively simple to download the applicable plugin. Follow the below steps:

Visit Zotero's style repository
Search "Nature Biotechnology" in the search box
Download the file
Open the downloaded file, and Zotero will automatically add it to your default style options.

2. Download the below plugin. This custom file (created by Jayme Sponsel) exports user-created annotations from Zotero's "extra" field.

Nature Biotechnology: Annotated Bibliography

3. Annotate each source using Zotero's "Extra" field.

For each citation, add your annotation in Zotero's "extra" field, as demonstrated below:

4. Using the "Quick Cite" method, export each citation using the "Nature Biotechnology Annotated" format (shown below):

4. Format the citation so the annotation is properly aligned with the citation.

When you first export your citation, the annotation will trail the citation as shown below:

You'll need to move the annotation to the next line and indent it. When finished, the citation should look like this:

To create an annotated bibliography using the Journal of Immunology citation style, follow the below steps:

1. Download the below plugin. This custom file exports user-created annotations from Zotero's "extra" field.

Journal of Immunology: Annotated Bibliography

2. Annotate each source using Zotero's "Extra" field.

For each citation, add your annotation in Zotero's "extra" field, as demonstrated below:

3. Using the "Quick Cite" method, export each citation using the "Journal of Immunology Annotated" format (shown below):

4. Format the citation so the annotation is properly aligned with the citation.

When you first export your citation, the annotation will trail the citation as shown below:

You'll need to move the annotation to the next line. When finished, the citation should look like this:

Add Annotations to Any Citation Format

Download the citation format you want to edit from Zotero's style repository
Open the file using a text editor
Rename the code and make the following edits
1. In the field beginning with <title>, add "Annotated" to the citation's name
2. In the field beginning with <id>, add "-Annotated" to the citation's link
3. In the field 2 lines down (beginning <link href) , add "-Annotated" to the citation's link
  - Steps 3i-3iii are demonstrated below:
4. Above the third to last field (</layout>), create a new line with the following code:
  - <text variable="note" prefix=". "/>
    - Step 3iv is demonstrated below:
Download the edited code
Using Zotero, annotate each source using the "extra" field
- This is demonstrated below:
Using the "Quick Cite" method, export each citation using the edited format
Format the citation so the annotation is properly aligned with the citation.
- You'll need to move the annotation to the next line and indent it. When finished, the annotation should look like this:

Add Links to All Citations

Using default settings, Zotero only attaches URLs to articles lacking specified page ranges. To include URLs on all citations (articles, journals, and newspapers), follow the below steps:

1. Under Zotero's settings, select "preferences."

2. Select the "Cite" submenu.

3. Check the box entitled "Include URLs of Paper Articles in References."