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Zotero: Self-Guided Tutorial

Creating Bibliographies and In-Text Citations

One of the best features of Zotero is it's ability to effortlessly create bibliographies and in-text citations from the items from the items in your library. To learn more, watch the video and/or review the options listed below. The video is bookmarked, so you can skip between sections.

  • Introduction and Preferences
  • Bibilographies from Within Zotero
  • Bibliographies and In-Text Citations Using the Zotero Plug-in (Microsoft Word & Google Docs)

Bibiography & In-Text Citation Options

It's easy to create a bibliography from your Zotero library.

Select the references or collections you want to include. Hold the control key and click to select multiple items. Right-click one of the selected items and choose Create Bibliography. Choose the bibliographic style you want, and select the output format: Save as RTF or HTML, copy to clipboard or print. (The RTF file format is compatible with all word processors.)

Or you can just drag and drop references from Zotero into your document! They'll turn into fully formatted citations. This works with any word processor including Google Docs.

​Zotero offers word processing plugins for Word and OpenOffice. The plugin adds a Zotero toolbar to your word processor that allows you to add citations to your document while you write.

To add a citation, click the first button ("Add/Edit Citation") on the toolbar. Search for the reference you want to cite and press Enter. Zotero will add the citation at your cursor.

At the end of your paper, click the "Insert Bibliography" button. Your bibliography will appear, and new citations will be added automatically. Change bibliographic styles with the "Document Preferences" button.

The toolbar looks different on different operating systems and versions of Word. Mousing over the toolbar will pop up each button's function if they're not clearly labeled.

NOTE: The Zotero plug-in does not work with the online version of Microsoft Word. You will need to install the app on your computer, which UM students can download for free when they log in with their UM credentials. When you are logged into Microsoft 365 online, click the button in the right hand corner of the screen that says "Install and more".  Next click on "Install Microsoft 365 apps" in the drop-down list. On the next screen, under "Office apps & devices", click the "Install Office" button.

           

Depending on the version of Word for Mac that you have on your computer, you might find the toolbar in a few different places. The current version installed from the Microsoft 365, Zotero can be found in the menu as shown below.

Microsoft Word (for Mac) Menu Bar with Zotero tab highlighted and Zotero options showing

However, older versions like Word for Mac 2015 have tabs, and the Zotero toolbar shows up on the "Add-Ins" tab, as shown below:

The Zotero writing and citing function for Google Docs is now supported! Google Docs support is part of the Zotero Connector for Chrome and Firefox and requires the Zotero program to function.

The Zotero Connector adds a Zotero menu to the Google Docs interface:

It also adds a toolbar button for one-click citing:

Zotero installs with only a few bibliographic styles, but many more are available to download.

To install a Zotero style:

  1. Go to Zotero Preferences (In the Zotero Menu, under Edit for a PC, or under Zotero for a Mac)
  2. On the Styles tab and under the list of styles, click the "Get additional styles" link.
  3. On the next screen, search for and click on the style you want to add.
  4. The new style will appear on Zotero's style list.

Screenshot of Cite tab of the Zotero Preferences Screen, with the "add additional styles" link highlighted

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