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Hunter Library
Research Guides
Western Carolina University

Zotero

Zotero is free, easy to use software for collecting, organizing, and citing print and electronic resources for research.

Collecting References: Using the Browser Connector

If Zotero detects that you're viewing a book or article in a library catalog or database, or a website like a news outlet or shopping site, the Connector icon will appear as a book or page icon. Click the icon and Zotero will automatically save the citation to the last active folder. Change the location be selecting from the dropdown menu, and press the Enter key.

screen grab illustrating how to use the zotero web connector icon to save to selected zotero collection

The icon will change, depending on what kind of item is detected on the webpage. Here are some of the icons you may see: 

If you're on a page of search results with many items, you'll see a folder icon instead. Click this to get a list of all the items on the page, and select the items you want to save.

Collecting References: Export from a Database

Export items from databases using RIS files. Different databases all do this a little differently, but look for Save / Export options in saved folders or collections. Here are a few examples:


EBSCOhost

From the folder view, select items to export, by clicking the Select / deselect all checkbox, or by selecting individual items to include. 

     Folder icon   Select or deselect all items checkbox

Then click the Export link on the right-hand panel, then select the Direct Export in RIS Format option, and click Save

     Export link in EBSCOhost Folder              selecting Direct Export in RIS Format

The RIS file will appear in your Downloads folder. With your Zotero application open, double click on the RIS file to open it in Zotero, or go into Zotero and File > Import, select the file type (RIS), click Next, and navigate to the downloaded file.

Zotero FIle menu, highlighting Import

You will be prompted to create a new collection. If you do not select this, the file will import into the last active collection in your Zotero library. Collections can be renamed at any time.zotero prompt to save imported RIS as a new collection


ProQuest

From the folder view, select items to export, by clicking the Select items checkbox, or by selecting individual items to include. 

     Folder icon   Select items checkbox

Then click the All Save and Export Options button save and export icon then select the RIS option RIS file icon. Make any necessary changes in the Export/Save popup, and click Continue

The RIS file will appear in your Downloads folder. With your Zotero application open, double click on the RIS file to open it in Zotero, or go into Zotero and File > Import, select the file type (RIS), click Next, and navigate to the downloaded file.

You will be prompted to create a new collection (see example above). If you do not select this, the file will import into the last active collection in your Zotero library. Collections can be renamed at anytime.

Collecting References: Add Manually

Add items manually by using one of the icons at the top of the Zotero library.

Add a New Item. Select the item type from the dropdown menu and fill in citation details in the edit panel. 

 

Add Item(s) by Identifier. Enter a DOI, ISBN, PMID, or other identifying number for Zotero to fetch citation information for the item. Use the edit panel to fill in any blanks.

Attaching Files

Zotero automatically saves PDFs along with citations when possible (you can change this in the preferences menu). Note, attachments take up space in your Zotero account. Free accounts have 300 MB of storage. Users can purchase more space if desired..

Attach files manually either by:

  • dragging a PDF (or other file) into the Zotero app.
    • Dropping a file onto a collection, or in between library items, will copy it into your library as a standalone item.  Dropping it onto an existing item will attach it to that item.
  • clicking on the Attachment icon  on the right hand side of the Zotero app to jump down to the Attachment line in the edit panel. 
    • Click on the plus sign to open your file browser to navigate to items saved on your device. 

Organizing Your LIbrary

Create new collectionCreate collections to organize your references. Collections are like file folders on your computer, but a reference can be in more than one collection at a time. For example, a book on the Civil War could be filed in your "Civil War" collection, your "NC History" collection and your "19th Century America" collection without having to make three copies of the reference. Right click on an existing collection to rename it, or to create sub-collections.