1. Download from Zotero Home Page http://www.zotero.org
Zotero is a free electronic reference management system that works with Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
It’s available from the Zotero home page (
• Click Download Now to get started.
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Download from Zotero Home Page

2. You can download Zotero as a Firefox extension or a Standalone browser-independent application.
• If you download as a Firefox extension, it will reside on your Firefox browser “Tools.”
• If you download as a Standalone application, you also need to add the appropriate Zotero Connector for your browser (ie, Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox).
You should also note, because Zotero Standalone is outside your browser, it does not have some of Zotero’s advanced features.
•• However you download, also note the availability of word processor plugins (ie, Word and LibreOffice).
Note: The remainder of this slide show will review Zotereo features as a Firefox extension.
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3. Zotero has good help information.
• Click the Documentation tab for a Quick Start Guide, FAQs, Tutorials, and much more.
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4. As a Firefox extension, whenever you have your browser open, you can launch Zotero via:
• Zotero in the Tools drop-down menu in the Menu bar
-OR-
• Zotero button in the Add-on bar (at the bottom right of your browser window)
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5. Zotero Works Well with Scholar
Zotero works well with Scholar, the electronic catalog of the CSU Law Library and Michael Schwartz Library.

6. Connect to Scholar :
• From a link on the Law Library home page (
-OR-
• By entering Scholar’s url ( in the browser Location bar
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7. Here is the Scholar home page.
• Let’s click the green Advanced Search button to display a more detailed search template.
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8. Here is the Scholar Advanced Search Template.
Suppose you’re interested in finding materials on the concept of “informed consent.”
Here is a sample search:
• [in Any Field] informed consent
• [limited to] Year after 2009
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9. Here are the search results for:
[in Any Field] informed consent
[limited to] Year after 2009
Now you would review these results for desired references.
When ready to load these references into Zotero,
• click the Zotero icon – a folder – in the Location bar to start the reference selection process.
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10. After clicking the Zotero icon in the location bar, the Select Items window will appear.
• Select your desired references, then
• Click the grey OK button.
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11. Launch Zotero.
• Your selected references have been downloaded into the “My Library” collection (in the left pane).
• Each reference is listed in the middle pane.
• Note the highlighted reference in the middle pane and its corresponding information in the “Info” tab in the right pane.
Zotero automatically loads information on each reference, and displays that information in the “Info” tab.
For the highlighted reference in this slide, Zotero has identified it as a book, as well as loaded the book title, author, etc.
You can add additional information about a reference in its “Info” tab – simply click inside the “Info” tab box and start typing.
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12. • Note the “Tags” tab for an individual reference.
Zotero automatically adds subject headings or keywords for each reference in its “Tags” tab.
You can add other subject headings or keywords here too.

13. Zotero Works Well with HeinOnline, Ebsco Databases, PubMed &
News Web Sites

14. Connect to HeinOnline:
• From a link on the Law Library home page (
-OR-
• From the Law Library Law Databases page (
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15. At the HeinOnline home page, let’s
• select/click the Law Journal Library
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16. In the HeinOnline Law Journal Library search box, here’s a simple search for:
• [limited to the article Description] informed consent
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17. Here are our HeinOnline Law Journal Library search results for:
[limited to the article Description] informed consent
Again, you would review these results for desired references.
When ready to load these references into Zotero,
• click the Zotero icon – a folder – in the Location bar to start the reference selection process.
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18. After clicking the Zotero icon in the location bar, the Select Items window will appear.
• Select your desired references, then
• Click the grey OK button.
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19. Launch Zotero. Again,
• Your selected references have been downloaded into the “My Library” collection (in the left pane).
• Each reference is listed in the middle pane.
• Corresponding information on each reference is in its “Info” and “Tags” tabs in the right pane.
For the highlighted reference in this slide, Zotero has identified it as a journal article, as well as loaded the article title, author, journal title, etc.
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20. Let’s Do a Search in PubMed…

21. At the PubMed home page, let’s
• click Advanced to display a more detailed search template.
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22. Here is the PubMed Advanced Search Builder template.
I’ve entered a search for:
• informed consent as MeSH terms
AND publication dates from 2012 on.

23. Here are our PubMed search results for:
informed consent as MeSH terms
AND publication dates from 2012 on.
We have a lot here, so, as you can do with many databases, we’re going to filter these results
• by options listed in the left navigation menu.
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24. Here are our PubMed search results, filtered for English language, review articles, and free full-text articles.
After reviewing these results for desired references,
• click on the Zotero icon – a folder – in the location bar to start the reference selection process.
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25. After clicking the Zotero icon in the location bar, the Select Items window will appear.
• Select your desired references, then
• Click the grey OK button.
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26. Launch Zotero. Again,
• Your selected references have been downloaded into the “My Library” collection (in the left pane).
• Each reference is listed in the middle pane.
• Corresponding information on each reference is in its “Info” and “Tags” tabs in the right pane.
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27. Zotero Does Not Work with
Lexis or Westlaw
But, It Is EASY To
Manually Add
Such References

28. Manually Adding a Reference – Step 1
Suppose you did a search in Law Reviews & Journals in WestlawNext for “informed consent” in the title of an article.
To manually add a reference from your search results into Zotero,
• click the New Item icon (white cross in green circle, above the middle pane), then select the type of reference you are adding – in this case it is a journal article.
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29. Manually Adding a Reference – Step 2
After selecting the type of reference you are adding,
• enter information in the “Info” tab (eg, Title, Author, etc.) for that reference.
You can also enter subject headings or keywords for the reference in its “Tags” tab.
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30. You Can Manually Add Web Pages
In Zotero,
You Can Manually Add Web Pages
As References

31. To add a Web page as a reference,
• click the Create Web Page Item from Current Page icon (sheet of paper with small plus sign, above the middle pane).
Zotero will download information on the Web page into the “My Library” collection (in the left pane), as well as list the Web page in the middle pane, and information on the Web page in its “Info” and “Tags” tabs (in the right pane).
“Info” tab information includes the Web page title, url, and date the Web page was accessed.
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32. After adding a Web page as a reference,
• Under the Web page reference in the middle pane, note that Zotero has also downloaded a screenshot of that Web page.
• If you don’t see this indented screenshot, click the plus sign to the left of the Web page reference to reveal it.
• In the right pane, note the additional information for the screenshot too.
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33. Want To Put Your
Zotero References
in Particular
Groups or Folders
or Collections?

34. Creating a New Collection of References – Step 1
• Click the New Collection icon (folder with small plus sign, above the left pane).
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35. Creating a New Collection of References – Step 2
The New Collection window will appear.
• Name the collection, then
• Click the grey OK button.
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36. Creating a New Collection of References – Step 3
• Click on “My Library” in the left pane to display all of your references in the middle pane. • Click and drag desired references from the middle pane to the new collection in the left pane.
Note: “My Library” will always contain all of the references you store in Zotero.
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37. Want to Add References to
a Paper?

38. To add a reference to a document,
• click on the reference and drag it to the document.
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39. Want to Create a Bibliography of Selected
References?

40. Creating a Bibliography – Step 1
• Select your desired references in the middle pane, then right click.
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41. Creating a Bibliography – Step 2
A free-floating menu will appear.
• Select/click Create Bibliography from Items.
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42. Creating a Bibliography – Step 3
The Create Citation Bibliography window will appear.
• Select the desired “Citation Style” as well as
• Bibliography as the “Output Mode” and your desired “Output Method,” then
• Click the grey OK button.
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43. Creating a Bibliography – Step 4
The Save Bibliography directory window will appear.
• Name your bibliography file and save it in your desired directory/folder.
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44. Here is the bibliography I just created in Zotero.

45. Want to Create a List of Footnotes of Selected
References?

46. Follow the first two steps used to create a bibliography.
Creating a List of Footnotes – Step 3
The Create Citation Bibliography window will appear.
• Select the desired “Citation Style” as well as
• Notes as the “Output Mode” and your desired “Output Method,” then
• Click the grey OK button.
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47. Creating a List of Footnotes – Step 4
The Save Bibliography directory window will appear.
• Name your notes file and save it in your desired directory/folder.
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48. Here is the list of footnotes I just created in Zotero.