Mastering Zotero by Kris Joseph is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
Mastering Zotero by Kris Joseph is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
This course is designed to take you beyond the basics of using Zotero (adding items and creating citations) to having it serve as a fully-fledged research partner. The course is broken into five broad topics, with several video modules in each section. The video below provides an overview of the course, and shows you how you can download and import a sample Zotero library that matches the examples in the videos. With the sample library installed, you can follow right along!
If you’re new to Zotero and need to understand the basics, check out these resources:
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/masteringzotero/?p=17
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
If you’re looking at this unit of the course, you may be in a place where you’ve got the basics of Zotero down — how to add or import items, how to use the Zotero Connectors to add items from a web browser, and how to use Zotero to generate citations and bibliographies in Microsoft Word — but you’re wondering what else you can do with the software. If your collection of citations has begun to grow beyond 30 to 50 items, it may start to feel a little disorganized. So how do Zotero’s built-in organizational features work together to create a coherent system for taming and managing all your research content and course materials?
That’s what this unit is all about. In it, we take an in-depth look at the three main systems Zotero uses to organize content: collections, tags, and related items. After modules that look at each of these features in detail, we show you an add-on for Zotero, called Zutilo, that can be used to make an easier time of managing items in bulk (copying and pasting tags, editing item information, adding new keyboard shortcuts, and more). Here’s what you’ll find in this unit:
We recommend going through the modules in order, so why not start with the introduction to collections, tags, and related items?
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:
The most commonly-used mechanism for organizing a Zotero library is with collections. For many people — especially those with a total Zotero library of less than 50 items or so — collections alone are more than enough to keep a Zotero library humming like a well-oiled machine. This module discusses collections in-depth, and users who have already worked with Zotero collections will probably pick up some new tricks as well.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/masteringzotero/?p=21
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
In the author’s humble opinion, tags are the most powerful mechanism for managing content. The main reason for this is because there is no limit to the number of tags you can put on any item. This lets you set up a system where you can filter and sort your Zotero library in almost limitless ways to find specific content, and to see connections between items. Tags can also be used for other things, like managing your workflow. If you would like to take your Zotero usage to the expert level, getting comfortable with tags is a critical step on the path!
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/masteringzotero/?p=23
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to:
This unit of the course is focused on ways to work with your Zotero items directly in the software. Instead of using one system for research, course work, and studying, and then only relying on Zotero for inserting citations in your writing, why not use Zotero as an active partner in your reading, note-taking, and research?
We begin this unit with a look at Zotero’s notes feature, and how you can use it to keep track of summaries, quotations, ideas, and new questions you discover as you are reading and working through material. We look at two different note-taking strategies that are commonly-used at college or university, and see how you can implement them directly in Zotero. And for people who have embraced a digital workflow that involves highlighting and annotating PDF files instead of going through large amounts of paper, we’ll introduce a terrific add-on called Zotfile that can extract your highlights and comments from PDF files and put them in Zotero notes… complete with in-text citations that link directly to the source!
To get the most out of this unit, we recommend following the module is order… but wherever possible, we’ve added links to relevant background material for situations where you want to jump in and learn about something specific. In this unit:
Jump in!
Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
A Zotero note is basically a formatted text file you can store in your Zotero library, either as a standalone document or as an attachment to a Zotero item. Notes have many uses, and in this module we’ll share some ideas for how you might put them to work. The next module will go even more in-depth to explain how Zotero notes can support your reading, studying, and research.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/masteringzotero/?p=78
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to:
In this module, we build on the basics of Zotero notes to show you how they can support note-taking strategies for reading, studying, and research. Among other things, you’ll learn how to set up templates that you can use to make your note-taking easier, more consistent, and efficient!
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/masteringzotero/?p=84
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
Reports in Zotero provide a convenient way to gather all of the associated information about an item (or items) into a single, printable document.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/masteringzotero/?p=86
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to create and save summary reports based on Zotero items and their associated information.
Many PDF reader tools will allow you to highlight text, add comments, and more. This is a great way to keep track of important points as you’re reading, but none of the highlights or comments you make are visible or searchable in Zotero. In this module, we introduce you to an add-on called Zotfile, which can extract those annotations into Zotero notes… making all of your thoughts easier to organize and manage!
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/masteringzotero/?p=92
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, students will be able to
In this optional module, we show you an advanced feature of the Zotfile add-on that will let you use your tablet or iPad as part of your PDF reading and annotation workflow.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/masteringzotero/?p=95
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
This section is still under development. It will cover:
This section is still under development. It will cover:
This section is still under development. It will cover: