Zotero: Final Steps

Final considerations:

Once you are happy that your reference list/bibliography is complete, please take a moment to ensure that the exact names of journals are included and that proper capitalisation has been applied. Very occasionally, Zotero will import metadata that is not exact. Below is an example where the journal’s name is not capitalised and includes unneeded extra information.

 

 

To fix this, open up Zotero and select the folder from which the reference was stored in and enter the author’s name as seen below.

 

Click on the citation, this will open up the reference. Click on the field you wish to be updated and edit it accordingly:

 

Edits you make will save automatically. Go back to your Word document and click on “Refresh” from the Zotero tab:

 

The document will then update to reflect your changes:

 

Merging Citations
When working on a large project such as a systematic review where you are importing search results from a number of different databases, you may need to merge identical citations.

Open up the folder that you are working on and then use the Ctrl key to select the references that you need to be merged. Then right click and select “Merge Items”.

You will then see the following screen. Select which citation you wish to keep and then merge the items.

 

Final step once referencing is complete:
When you have everything cited, at the very end of your essay, right before you are ready to submit click on “Unlink Citations” from the Zotero tab of Word. This will remove all of the code but keep all of your citations and reference list.

 

Appendix 1: Adding a specific reference style
Zotero comes inbuilt with a number of referencing styles. However, the institution you are doing a course with or the journal you are submitting your paper to may have a specific style. In order to add other reference styles, open up Microsoft Word and click on the Zotero tab, then click on “Document Preferences”.

 

From the next page, you can add another style by clicking on “Manage Styles”

 

From this screen, click on “Get additional styles”

 

From the next screen, enter the name of the style you need in the style search box as seen below. If that exact style is not listed, it is very likely that the same style will be available under a different name. To see how the citations would look using this style, hover your mouse over one of the styles:

 

In this case, the Harvard style for Bournemouth University was deemed appropriate. When clicked on, this style will now be added to your list of possible styles.