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Zotero - Collect, Organize, Cite and Share your Research Sources: Introduction

Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources.

Latest issues (technical usually)

Zotero version 7 is in BETA. Please do not use if you are not technically savvy as there is a flood of issues reported.

Users on MacOS

  1. If your Mac is installed with new generation chips, you need to use Zotero (5.0.95.2) to work with MS Word (version 16.44 or later).
  2. If you don't see Zotero in your MS Word ribbon, see here for possible solutions.
  3. Mac users should be using Zotero (version 5.0.95.2) or later, else your Zotero Library will not sync.

More Information

Zotero Guide Book

Zotero Training Sessions

 

Researcher Unbound- Zotero workshops are conducted once every semester, online only. These workshops are for beginner users.

Date Time Venue Registration
28 Sep 2023 10- 11:30am Zoom Please check RU page
Sem2 Recess Week tbc Webinar via Zoom to be published

If you want to explore Zotero on your own, you will need to :

  • Register a Zotero account using your email
  • Download and Install the Zotero Standalone on your laptop. If you need step-by-step instructions, please go to 'Handouts'
  • If you are working on campus, ensure that your laptop is connected to NUS Wi-Fi and that you have Microsoft Word 365 installed. Microsoft Word 2019 is good with Zotero too.
 
 

What is Zotero?

                                                                                                             

Zotero is a free bibliographic citation management software that allows you to save, collect, manage, cite, and share research sources. Zotero is available either as a Firefox extension or as standalone software that works with Firefox, Chrome and Safari browsers. It works right in your browser, making it easy to save you citations while you search.

Use the Zotero word processor plugins to easily cite your sources and create a bibliography while you work.


Note: While Zotero is a free software, the Zotero cloud storage has a limit of 300 MB. Anything more than 300 MB, you would have to pay for extra cloud storage. However it is possible to expand your storage space for free by following the instructions here.

What can Zotero do?

Pros and Cons of Zotero

Some points to consider before you start using Zotero:

Pros:

  • It's user-friendly.

  • Great for importing records for non-traditional references, like wikis and websites.

  • Helps to organize web screenshots and PDFs. You can make PDFs searchable by choosing to index them in the preferences menu. 

  • Easily imports records from many of the resources you already use.

  • Detects proxy servers automatically, making off-campus access to library databases easierThe programme lives where you already do most of your research, in the browser.

  • Synchronizes collections among multiple computers & backs up data.

  • Imports records from several major databases including Factiva, USPTO, Espacenet, & FreePatentsOnline.

Cons:

  • Need to pay for extra storage space.

Resource Librarian