Zotero is a browser extension that collects, manages, and cites research sources. It's easy to use, lives in your web browser where you do your work, and best of all it's free.
Zotero allows you to attach PDFs, notes and images to your citations, organize them into collections for different projects, and create bibliographies. You can also share your citations with your classmates. Zotero supports 1000's of citation styles, including Vancouver and APA.
If you have a tablet issued by the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, you may already have Zotero installed! Head to Zotero.org and create an account. If not, go ahead and install the Zotero program and create an account.
When setting up Zotero, make sure you also download and install the Zotero browser connectors and plugins. Connectors are available for Chrome, Firefox and Safari - installing the browser connector will also enable Zotero within Google Docs. Word processor plugins include Microsoft Word and LibreOffice -- make sure to install any of ones you use.
One of the advantages of Zotero is that it has very good documentation. Check out the Quick Start Guide for the basics, and Using Zotero for in-depth information. There is also a page specifically on using Zotero with Google Docs.
If you prefer video format, check out these video tutorials produced by the Zotero community.
For instructions on how to share your citations with your classmates, see Zotero Groups.
Vancouver and APA are included in Zotero by default. When using APA Style, make sure you select American Psychological Association 7th Ed.
For Vancouver users, be aware that the version of Vancouver used at WNE is slightly different than the official style. The main difference is in the number of authors -- at WNE we list up to three authors, while in Vancouver style the number is seven.
When you import a citation into Zotero using one of the browser plugins, always double-check to make sure the information imported correctly. This is particularly important when importing websites, as metadata such as author names or journal titles can be corrupted. Fix anything incorrect in your library before citing.
In both APA and Vancouver formats, article titles are written out in sentence case. However, sometimes Zotero gets confused and imports titles in Title Case. To fix this, start from the Zotero library and right click on the article title in the right-hand pane --> Transform Text --> Sentence Case. You may need to fix the capitalization of proper nouns.
If Vancouver journal abbreviations aren't showing up properly in Word or Google Docs, make sure that "Use MEDLINE Journal Abbreviations" is selected in the Document Preferences window in the Zotero plugin.
Many databases can export citations in .ris format, which can then be imported into Zotero. You can import RIS files in Zotero by clicking File → “Import…” and choosing “A file."
