Skip to Main Content
UWF Libraries logo
Your opinion counts! Please give us feedback.

Zotero

Adding Citations

Zotero allows you to add citations from a variety of sources. The easiest way is to use the Zotero Connector browser plug-in to import citation information from databases and web pages.

Be aware that the Zotero icon in the browser extensions bar will look differently depending on the type of page you're browser is currently displaying:

Zotero the browser extension icon has different appearances if: 1) Zotero is offline, 2) Your are viewing the results list of a database search, 3) You are viewing an individual record in a database, or 4) You are viewing a web page.

If you are unable to use the Zotero Connector browser plug-in, try these instructions instead:

Import from Databases

Perform a search in OneSearch or one of UWF's subject databases.

When you have a list of pertinent results, click on the "Save to Zotero" extension/plug-in in your browser.  A Zotero Item Selector window will pop up.  Select the articles you want to import into Zotero and click OK.

Importing Citations into Zotero from Results List

Note that if you were to "Select All" in the Zotero Item Selector, it will only select all records in the current browser view - in this case, records 1-30 of 69 results.  Advance to the next page of results to download more citations or increase the number of results per page in your database settings to be able to work through search results more quickly.

Alternately, you can download a citation for an article from the full record view in a database, again by clicking on the "Save to Zotero" icon in your browser toolbar:

Saving Citation to Zotero from Database Full Record

In many cases, if a PDF file is linked from a record, it is imported into Zotero as an attachment to the citation information. If not, a link to the PDF may be saved to the Zotero record for the article. If the PDF is not automatically attached to the Zotero record, you can download the PDF from the database and attach it to the record within the Zotero interface.

 

Import from Web Pages

If you want to cite a web page that you have found, click on the "Save to Zotero" icon in your browser toolbar to save citation information, URL, and, if possible, a snapshot of the webpage in Zotero:

Saving Citation Information for a Web Page to Zotero

 

Add Citations with DOI, ISBN, URL

In some situations, you may be using a public computer or otherwise be unable to import citations using the Zotero Connector browser plugin.  In these cases, you can try adding citations using one of these:

If you find an article citation you want to add, look for a DOI value in the article description:

Article citation showing DOI informationClick image to enlarge

Adding a citation by DOI in Zotero Web

 

In the Zotero web interface, choose the collection to which you want to add this citation, then click on the "magic wand" tool and enter the article's DOI value. 

 

After you press [Enter], citation information for the article will be imported in Zotero.  Notice that the citation may not include the abstract that you saw in your article description.  You can copy-and-paste the abstract from your database entry or perhaps by following the URL for the article in the Zotero record:

Zotero Web screen capture - Article citation imported using DOI

Click image to enlarge

A similar process may be followed using ISBNs from library catalog records or other bibliographic sources.  (Again, abstracts may not be imported into Zotero using this method.)

Book description from a database showing ISBN

Click image to enlarge

Adding book citation to Zotero using ISBN

Book record in Zotero imported using ISBN

Click image to enlarge

Finally, citations for web pages may also be added to Zotero using the same tool and the URL for the web site.  In this example, we're adding a citation for an NIH news release found here: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/promising-interim-results-clinical-trial-nih-moderna-covid-19-vaccine

Adding web page citation to Zotero with URL

Citation for web site in Zotero after import using URLClick image to enlarge