When writing an essay or journal article, we need to give proper acknowledgement to our sources. However, it can be a tedious process to keep track of all the Web sites, books and journal articles that we consult while researching.

There is a very handy tool that not only helps you keep track of your sources, but also automatically creates the bibliography for you. It can also keep a local copy of Web pages for later reference.

Zotero is a Firefox add-on that makes the task of citing our sources easier. As Zotero needs Firefox, we’ll first download this browser.

Installing Firefox

If you don’t already have Firefox on your computer, go to http://mozilla.org and download Firefox Browser.

(The Zotero team is currently working on a standalone version which won’t require Firefox. At the time of writing, this is still in beta.)

Installing Zotero

Next, using the Firefox browser, we will go to http://zotero.org and install the Zotero add-on. You will have to restart the Firefox browser to activate Zotero.

Using Zotero to save web pages

Zotero is activated by a small “Zotero” icon on the bottom bar of the Firefox browser.

Once you click on the “Z” icon, you will see three distinct areas. The Collections on the left, Item lists in the middle and Item details on the right.

It is a good practice to create a Collection (a Collection is similar to a Folder) to save related resources. You may be working on several projects at the same time. Use Collections to organize your research.

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To add a web page to Zotero, just navigate to the page, activate Zotero by clicking on the “Z” icon in the bottom bar and then click on the “Add Current Page” button.

Zotero will save the page in its database. You will see the item added to the column in the middle. Click on the name of the item to see its details on the right column.

One other advantage of Zotero is that it saves the webpage locally. This means that you can view the webpage even if you are not connected to the internet.

Zotero can also recognize some special items such as books, Wikipedia pages and YouTube videos. In such cases it will store additional information about that item.

Such special items are indicated with a small icon on the URL field in the browser.

Creating Bibliography

Once you have a few items, you can create a bibliography. Just right click on an ollection and select “Create Bibliography From Collection”

Zotero will let you select the citation style and output format. Usually, your assignment will specify what format the citations needs to be in. If you are not sure just use APA (American Psychology Association). Under output format choose “Copy to Clipboard”.

Paste this citation on your research document. For example my citation looks like this when I paste it on Word or any other text editor.

As Sudan Prepares to Split, Border Tensions Rise in Abyei. (2011, January 9). Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2041445,00.html

Here is an example bibliography from a collection:

As Sudan Prepares to Split, Border Tensions Rise in Abyei. (2011, January 9). Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2041445,00.html

Johnson, D. H. (2002). The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars. James Currey, UK.

Stoves, D. (2010). Taxis in Khartoum. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/darfurstoves/5240735290/

Sudan 101: Could Sudan’s oil resources solve its problems? – CSMonitor.com. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 4, 2011, from http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2010/0426/Sudan-101-Could-Sudan-solve-its-problems

The Kush Empire. (2008). . Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b86XE3TbXg0

Video Resource

This video describes Zotero and shows you how to use it.

Author

Preetam Rai, Educational technologist, Teaching and Learning Centre, Ngee Ann Polytechnic