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Citation Management

Writing a paper is hard! It's a little bit easier with citation management.

Sort and Search Citations

How do I sort citations in Zotero?

To sort citations in Zotero:

  1. Focus on the center panel in Zotero Standalone.
  2. Notice the headers at the top (for example, Title, Creator, Year, and Date Added):

Screenshot of Zotero with circle around the headers in the center panel.

  1. Click on each header to sort alphabetically or numerically. 
    • You can switch between A to Z or Z to A. You can also switch between higher to lower numbers or lower to higher numbers.

To add or remove headers in Zotero Standalone:

  1. Right- or CTRL-click in the header to open a drop down menu.
  2. Notice that a check mark next to a header means that it is active.

Screenshot of Zotero with circle around add/remove headers drop down menu in center panel.

  1. Click on a checked header to remove it.

Screenshot of add/remove headers drop down menu in Zotero center panel with arrow pointing to a check mark.

  1. Click on a non-checked header to add it.

Screenshot of add/remove headers drop down menu in Zotero center panel with arrow pointing to an item without a check mark.

You can also drag and drop headers to put them in an order that makes sense to you.

How do I use quick search in Zotero?

Quick Search is located in the top, right corner of the center panel in Zotero Standalone. Quick Search has three options.

  1. Title, Creator, or Year
    • The fastest search option if you have a very large library

Screenshot of Zotero highlighting Title, Creator, Year in the Quick Search box drop down menu.

  1. All Fields and Tags
    • Includes fields like publication, abstract, series, volume, issue, etc. and tags

Screenshot of Zotero highlighting All Fields and Tags in the Quick Search box drop down menu.

  1. Everything.
    • Includes full text PDFs (unless they’re image-only)Screenshot of Zotero highlighting the Quick Search box with Everything selected and showing a PDF preview.

 

How do I use advanced search in Zotero?

To use advanced search in Zotero:

  1. Click on the icon that looks like a magnifying glass at the top of the center panel in Zotero.

    Screenshot of Zotero highlighting the Advanced Search magnifying glass icon.
     
  2. Select a library (My Library or a group library) from the ‘Search in library’ drop down menu.

    Screenshot of Zotero's advanced search box highlighting 'My Library' and group libraries.
     
  3. Choose any or all from the ‘Match’ drop down menu
     
    1. All will narrow your search. Zotero will only return results that include every search term.
       
    2. Any will broaden your search. Zotero will return results that include any search term on its own or any combination of search terms.

      Screenshot of Zotero's advanced search box highlighting the match any or all drop down menu.
       
  4. Set your search terms
     
    1. Choose a field to search from the first drop down menu. For example, title, publication, tag.

      Screenshot of Zotero's advanced search box highlighting the fields drop down menu.
       
    2. Choose to limit your search from the second drop down menu. For example, contains, begins with, is not.

      Screenshot of Zotero's advanced search box highlighting the search limiter drop down menu.
       
    3. Enter your search term in the blank field.
       
    4. If you want to add additional search terms, click on the plus sign to the right of the text field.

      Screenshot of Zotero's advanced search box highlighting the blank field where you enter search terms and plus/minus button to add or remove terms.
       
  5. Decide if you want to use the additional check boxes.
     
    1. Search subcollections — If you have subcollections, you may want to check this box.
       
    2. Show only top-level items — If you have notes or other attachments that may match your search terms but the related citation does not, you may want to check this box.
       
    3. Include parent and child items of matching items — If you have notes or other attachments that may match your search terms in addition to related citations, you may want to check this box.
       
  6. Click search
     
    1. Zotero will display the results at the bottom of the Advanced Search window

      Screenshot of Zotero's advanced search box highlighting a complete search.
       

To save an advanced search in Zotero:

  1. Follow instructions 1-5 above to set your search terms and click on ‘Search’
     
    1. Zotero will display the results at the bottom of the Advanced Search window
       
  2. Click on ‘Save Search’  and name your saved search

    Screenshot of Zotero's advanced search box highlighting Save Search button and the popup box where you name your search.
     
  3. Note that your saved search is now in your list of folders (or collections) but the folder icon has a magnifying glass on it.

    Screenshot of Zotero's folder structure in the left panel highlighting a saved search.
     

Saving searches is a great way to organize your citations. A saved search is always kept up-to-date with any items you add to Zotero later.