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Citation Management Software: Writing & Citing

A guide to the commonly used citation - or reference - management software available to the U-Idaho community.

Writing & Citing

Create In-Text Citations or a Bibliography in Zotero

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Select the items you want to include in a bibliography
    • Option 1: Click a single reference
    • Option 2: Ctrl+Click multiple references
    • Option 3: Right click the name of a collection
  • Right click and select 'Create Bibliography from Items'
  • Choose the Citation Style
  • Choose the Output Mode
    • Citations = In-text citations
    • Bibliography = Bibliography
  • Choose the Output Method
  • Click 'OK'

Install the Zotero Word Plugin

The Zotero Word plugin is bundled with Zotero and should be installed automatically.

Insert In-Text Citations

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Navigate to the Zotero tab and the Zotero section
  • Click your cursor where you would like to add the in-text citation
  • Click 'Add/Edit Citation'
    • Choose your Citation Style, if prompted, and click 'OK'
  • Enter search terms related to the reference you want to insert, such as the author's name, the source title, etc.
  • Click the appropriate reference
  • Hit 'Enter' on your keyboard to add the in-text citation
    • You can also search for additional references and hit 'Enter' when you're ready to add an entire list
  • An in-text citation will be added to your document in the style you originally selected

Insert a Bibliography

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Navigate to the Zotero tab and the Zotero section
  • Click your cursor where you would like to add the bibliography
  • Click 'Add/Edit Bibliography'
  • A bibliography will be added to your document in the style you originally selected

Change Citation Style for all References in a Document

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Navigate to the Zotero tab and the Zotero section
  • Click 'Document Preferences'
  • Click in the Citation Style box and select another style
  • Click 'OK'
  • The references in your document now reflect the style you selected

The Zotero Google Docs plugin is bundled with the Zotero Connector and should be added automatically. Please visit Zotero's Documentation page for more information about using Zotero with Google Docs.

Authenticate The Zotero Plugin with Your Google Account

You will be prompted to authenticate the first time you use Zotero in Google Docs.

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Open a Google Doc
  • Click the Zotero icon or Zotero heading
  • Follow the instructions to authenticate the plugin
    • Be sure to select the Google account you're using to create the Google Doc
      • This Google account does not have to match the one you use for your Zotero account
  • Authentication can take a few minutes
    • You might need to close and reopen the Zotero desktop app or log-out and log back in to Google Drive

Insert In-Text Citations

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Open a Googe Doc
  • Click the Zotero icon or Zotero heading
  • Click your cursor where you would like to add the in-text citation
  • Click 'Add/Edit Citation'
    • Choose your Citation Style, if prompted, and click 'OK'
  • Enter search terms related to the reference you want to insert, such as the author's name, the source title, etc.
  • Click the appropriate reference
  • Hit 'Enter' on your keyboard to add the in-text citation
    • You can also search for additional references and hit 'Enter' when you're ready to add an entire list
  • An in-text citation will be added to your document in the style you originally selected

Insert a Bibliography

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Open a Googe Doc
  • Click the Zotero icon or Zotero heading
  • Click your cursor where you would like to add the bibliography
  • Click 'Add/Edit Bibliography'
  • A bibliography will be added to your document in the style you originally selected

Change Citation Style for all References in a Document

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Open a Googe Doc
  • Click the Zotero icon or Zotero heading
  • Click 'Document Preferences'
  • Click in the Citation Style box and select another style
  • Click 'OK'
  • The references in your document now reflect the style you selected

Download Document with Zotero Citations for Sharing and Offline Use

To download a Google Doc with Zotero citations for sharing or offline use, we must make a copy of the original document. If we don't, all Zotero citations will appear as links to zotero.org

  • Open the Zotero desktop app
  • Open a Google Doc
  • Click 'File' then 'Make a copy'
  • Follow the on-screen instructions
  • Within the document copy, click the Zotero icon or Zotero heading
  • Click 'Unlink Citations'
    • This will change the citations to plain text format and remove the zotero.org links
  • Click 'OK'
  • Click 'File' 
  • Hover over Download and select your chosen file type

Since you created a copy, the original document will still include the Zotero field codes that allow Zotero to update citations and bibliographies.