Skip to Main Content

Citation Management Tools

This guide will help you learn how to use Endnote and Zotero, two citation management tools that can help you keep your sources organized and generate citations.

Zotero Word Plug-in

Zotero offers Word Processor Plug-ins for Microsoft Word and LibreOffice, which are installed automatically when you install Zotero on your computer. These instructions are for the Zotero Word Plug-in. If you use LibreOffice as your word processor, see the directions for the Zotero LibreOffice Plug-in on the Zotero website.

When you open a new or existing document in Microsoft Word, you will see a Zotero tab in the menu of your document.

 

For Zotero Word Processor Plug-ins help, see Zotero's Troubleshooting page.

The Zotero Word Plug-in allows you to set Document Preferences such as language and citation style. To set the citation style, click on Document Preferences in the Zotero menu. You can then choose your citation style, such as APA 6th edition, and click OK.

To cite a source in Word, place the cursor where you want the citation to appear and click the Add/Edit Citation button in the Zotero menu. 

Start typing part of the title, last name of the author, and/or year of publication in the search box. Matching items in your library will show below the box. 

Select the reference item you want to cite and press the Enter/Return key. The formatted citation will appear where you placed the cursor.

To create a bibliography, place the cursor where you want the bibliography to start and click the Add/Edit Bibliography button.

The bibliography will appear where you placed your cursor.