Ten steps of using Zotero -- Wanmin Liu

Ten steps of using Zotero

Wanmin Liu

If you haven't used a reference manager, it's a good chance to try Zotero, an open source

reference manager. You can use it with your Google Docs or Word.

Installation before using: Install the Zotero in the following three steps.

Step 1. Install Zotero as an app on your computer. https://www.Zotero.org/

Step 2. Install Chrome extension of Zotero. It is called: Zotero Connector

Step 3. (If you use Google Docs), allow Zotero to access your Google Docs. It should be

similar if you only use Word.

https://www.Zotero.org/support/google_docs

https://www.Zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_usage

How to use it?

There are two main stages:

● you collect the data, as the Step 4 and Step 5 below, and

● you refer to the data in your document, as the Step 6 to Step 10.

Step 4. Open the App Zotero on your computer.

Step 5. Collect references. A benefit of using a reference manager is that you SHOULD

NOT write the reference by yourself. You should collect the data of references.

How to collect data? -- An example

A good way to collect the references is to use the LIBRIS, as the data in LIBRIS is accurate.

https://libris.kb.se/

Open the web browser that has the Zotero connector (as in Step 2), and visit the above

website, then search the reference you want. For example, I search Motivation och lärande,

it appears on the following page.

Then I can click the Zotero Connector button as in the arrow in the picture.

So the information of the book is automatically added into my Zotero library locally.

Step 6. Use Zotero in Google Docs.

Suppose that I want to cite the book Motivation och lärande, I first click the Zotero Extension

in Google Docs, as in the picture, and click Add/edit citation.

Step 7. After clicking, I am offered to choose the style of my reference, and I choose APA

as below.

If you cannot find the APA style in the local Zotero App, you can click the Manage

Styles to add it.

Step 8. Then there is a search box where I can search my library. I search Motivation, and

select the data I want.

It then follows the magic below:

(Skaalvik m.fl., 2016)

So I can cite the reference without inputting the data (of authors, titles, ... )!

This is cool!

More importantly, we can concentrate on writing the document without worrying about the

format of the references.

Step 9. In the end of your document (I input the words “References” in the end part of

this document) or in the “references” part of your template, place the text input cursor where

you want the reference to appear, and then click the Zotero extension in Google Docs, and

click Add/edit bibliography. Then the references are ready!

Step 10. If you want to publish your document WITHOUT “Internal Links”, you can make a

copy of your document, and in this new copy, you can use the Zotero extension in Google

Docs, and click Unlink citations. Then this version is ready to be published without links to

your own personal Zotero library.

References

Skaalvik, E. M., Skaalvik, S., & Erlandsson, A. (2016). Motivation och lärande. Natur &

Kultur.