You are here

Home

Create a Collection

Introduction: Citations can be imported into Zotero from many databases and websites. (But don’t try to capture directly from a .pdf).  By default all citations go into "My Library" but if you are working on several projects, that will become quite congested--and hard to use.  TIP - This is THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP when you are using ZOTERO: ALWAYS download your references into a collection (folder) you have FIRST created.

i.  Open Zotero on your Desktop.

ii. Create a Collection: Collections can function as subject folders that allow you to place all your references related to the same topic or assignment in one place. To create a collection, click on Collection Icon and name the Collection:

Once a collection has been created, references will be added to whichever collection is highlighted in your Zotero library.  Note: References can sit in more than one Collection at a time and all your references will appear in the My Library collection.

Importing References into Zotero

i. Keep Zotero OPEN on your desktop, with the collection you are using highlighted.

ii.    Most of the time you should be able to add references to Zotero directly. This includes when using Laurentian's Omni catalogue, as well as Google Scholar and all databases on the following platforms:  Ebsco, Engineering Village, ProQuest, and Ovid. The icons will change depending on the item. Clicking these icons will save the item(s) to your Zotero Collection.

iii. Gale Databases cannot import a group of citations (List of items--see icon above) so you have to import one citation at a time.

a.    At the BOTTOM of an individual entry, often at the end of the full-text, you will find several options:

b.    Click on Download RIS.
c.    When the download is complete, double click it.
d.    Zotero will ask you whether you want to import the reference into one labelled Citations.  Unclick this option (as shown below) to transfer the citation into the Collection folder you are using.

        
 iv.  Add references manually by clicking  File  → New Item and then picking the category of resource you wish to enter.

This is not recommended because it is time consuming and because mistakes appear.  Best alternative for articles—search by article title in Google Scholar; for books, use WorldCat.