Zotero

Zotero can be used to collect and organize citations for research projects, as well as a tool for managing files for shared projects.

• Zotero 5.0 is free to download.
• A quick start guide is available on the Zotero website to help get you started.

The basic steps are listed below. For the precise details and more information, see https://www.zotero.org/support/groups.

2. 1. One person creates the group for sharing and then invites others.
   2. From the menu at the top, the group creator must click on the new library icon, and then select the new group option.
   3. They will need to log in with their Zotero ID and password, since the group function uses the Zotero webspace.
   4. If the members of the group want to share files, the creator will need to create a private group.  If the aim is to create a shared bibliography, be careful with the controls if you do not want public access via Zotero. One needs a public group with closed membership.
   5. Once the group is created, the group owner can go to the online page for that group and select the "manage members" option.  The members should be identified by their Zotero IDs or the email addresses they use when they set up their Zotero.  Members can only be invited once they have installed Zotero and created an account.
   6. The group should appear below the list of each individual's Zotero libraries.  Each of them can access the information or files in the shared folders the same way they would access their own Zotero resources.  They can add a new resource that they have found by clicking and dragging the item to the appropriate shared folder.  (If they decide at some point to delete the item from their own collection but not the shared group folders, they should select the "remove item from collection" option, rather than the "move item to trash."

You can add PDFs to Zotero records (https://www.zotero.org/support/attaching_files). For example, a professor could create records for each document and then attach the PDF so that a research assistant could readily access it.

• For file management and Zotero storage see the plugin Zotfile. The documentation is here: http://zotfile.com/
• The group owner should sync group members' shared files. If the group has a large number of files the group owner may need to purchase expanded file storage for his/her files.  All members of the private group will then be able to access them.
• While it is theoretically possible to make one's Zotero storage file a Box or Google Drive file, Zotero does not recommend this, as there are serious possibilities for corruption, as both Zotero and the file sharing utilities are constantly updating themselves.
• It is also possible for one to use a "link to file" option rather than storing the file in Zotero, but this would mean a lot of maintenance with someone periodically uploading the new files to the folder in Box or Google Drive

• Juris-M - a Zotero variant that is designed more for legal and international sources (https://juris-m.github.io/)
   

Guide based on documentation provided by Dana Neacşu

Last Updated: July 28, 2021