NE2V13003 Dutch Literature III: The Middle Ages: Zotero

In order to do the assignments, you will need to install Zotero - a free, independent and open source tool, which helps you manage your research results. If you don't have a notebook, install Zotero on your pc and make sure that you can work together with a fellow student who does have a notebook available if you discuss your proceedings in class/with the teacher.

- Create a new collection in Zotero (for instance "research proposal Middle Dutch")

- Find a collaborator and create a group Zotero, adding your collaborator and teacher 

Keep in mind

Zotero can be a helpful tool, not only in this assignment, but also in research assignment in other courses and ultimately your bachelor thesis. When creating a Zotero account consider using your personal email address, so are able to even continue using Zotero after your UU-email address is terminated at the end of your BA/MA.

Before you can start using Zotero, follow these five steps:

1. Go to Zotero and create an account. You will need this account to work in groups and to synchronize your Zotero library on multiple devices.
2. Go to Zotero, click download now and download and install Zotero Standalone
3. Go back to the Zotero download page, and install the browser extension for Chrome, Firefox and/or Safari
4. Start Zotero Standalone, go to edit|preferences and then to 'advanced', then to the files tab to select a folder on your hard drive where you store/save your PDFs
5. In edit|preferences on the 'general' tab, deselect the option to automatically tag items.
6. In edit|preferences on the 'sync' tab, make sure your Zotero account (step 1) is linked to the Zotero Standalone application. 

Use Zotero with Chrome, Firefox or Safari!

Additionaly you can

• In edit|preferences on the 'search' tab, activate PDF indexing to be able to search the full text of your PDF files
• From the same download page install the plugin for Microsoft Word (this supports citing while you write your paper).

Getting publications into Zotero is easy using the browser extension. Perform a search and simply hit the Zotero button in your browser.

You can create Zotero Groups to collaborate with others and share your library.

1. Go to Zotero Online, create a new group
2. Choose a name for the group and select the membership settings (choose "private membership" for this course!)
3. On the next page, choose member settings and send invitations to people to collaborate on your library

Your group might not be visible yet in the desktop application. Try using the sync-button on the upper right corner to solve this.

The interface of the Zotero browser extension might be slightly different, depending on you browser. The interface of the Zotero desktop application on a Mac Operating System differs from the application on a Windows OS. The guidelines on this page are based on Zotero in combination with a Chrome browser and a Windows OS.

For Mac users:

• Zotero installation for Macs (tutorial on youtube)

You can add the full text pdf's of the publications to Zotero. 

• Using the browser button
  When you add a publication to Zotero using the browser button, the pdf of the article will also be added to Zotero (when there's a direct link to the pdf on that page).
• Manually
  First save the pdf to your computer.
  Right-click the title in Zotero and choose 'add attachtment, attach stored copy of file'.

You can organise the literature using Zotero standalone using:

• Collections
  • Right-click My Library top left to make a collection.
  • You can simply drag and drop titles from your library to these collections.
• Tags
  • Select a reference in your library
  • using the pane on the right add a tag
• Notes
  • Select a reference in your library 
  • using the pane on the right add a note (for instance a short summary of why this title is relevant to you)
• Summary
  • Select a reference in your library 
  • using the pane on the right add a summary to the title information
  • In some cases, the title you added to Zotero already comes with a summary (from the publisher)

Check the Zotero support pages for additional help.

You can automatically create a bibliography (that is: a list of references to publications) using a specific citation style (that is: a list of rules that tell you how to refer to a publication):

1. Right-click the collection and create a bibliography
2. Choose the citation style you want to use (for this course we use the Chicago Manual of Style.)
3. Choose the output option that suits you (for instance clipboard)

Remember, Zotero is just software. When the references in your library are incomplete or false, you will have to fix this first.

• All your references in one place
• Adding references in one click
• Automatic creation of footnotes and bibliography
• Central place to store you notes
• Remote access
• Possibilities for collaboration

There are dozens of dedicated reference management tools. The best known and most widely used are:

• Mendeley, a free tool primarily built around a full text workflow, with good synchronisation between the desktop application and web interface, with a built in PDF-reader and strong social functions.
• Zotero, a free, independent and open source tool, with very good ability to recognise and capture bibliographical data on webpages.
• RefWorks, a complete tool, licensed by Utrecht University, supported by many search engines and databases with fast and reliable direct export options, but, being a pure web service, sometimes a bit slower and without a good full text workflow.
• EndNote, also very complete and professional, and with almost unlimited sharing functions; there is a UU-license. Install info is on the training tab of this LibGuide

To help you choose the tool that best suits your needs, take a look at our comparison tables.

Whatever tool you choose, it is always relatively easy to switch at a later stage and import your references in another tool.

If you have problems using Zotero, ask a fellow student or send an email to the subject librarian Margriet Fokken. Recurring issues will be added to this list.

• Cannot install Zotero Standalone (e.g. on a Chromebook or a public computer)
  You can use Zotero without the Standalone version, you will have to work with the online version. Just create an account at zotero.org. Some advanced functionality of the standalone version might be missing in the online version.
• Cannot add a title to Zotero
  Zotero probably can't "read" the web page you're on. Try to find the same title in Google Scholar or Worldcat and import it from there. 
• Cannot add a title from library catalogue to Zotero
  Importing a title doesn't always work on the title description page for a single publication. In the menu at the top op the page choose 'titellijst / results list' and import the title from there. 
• Cannot add a pdf to a publication (in a Group)
  Go to Zotero Groups and change the 'library settings'. The 'file editing' should be changed to 'any group member'.
• Zotero Standalone has a Dutch interface, I want to change this to English.
  In edit|preferences on the 'advanced' tab, change the language to English.