Senior Thesis 2022-23: Citing Sources

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use software that can help you collect, manage and cite your research sources. It functions as a stand-alone desktop application that can be used with Firefox, Chrome, Edge, or Safari. (Be aware that there is ongoing work on Safari support because there have been some bugs in Mac support for browser extensions -- you may find it easier to use Chrome or Firefox with Zotero.) Zotero has a group function online that enables multiple users to share citations. Install Zotero by visiting zotero.org.

Zotero documentation includes information on installation and a helpful Quick Start Guide, as well as a FAQ.

Zotero has a number of screencast guides that explain the basics of using the software. 

To get started, you need to download Zotero standalone, which can be used with Firefox, Chrome, Edge, or Safari (there are currently some bugs with Safari however). You also need to download the Zotero Connector for the browser you use. This lets the browser communicate with your Zotero database. Before you start collecting citations, open the Zotero standalone application. It will appear in a separate window and will enable you to send citations from Chrome or Safari to your Zotero library.

EndNote and Zotero have similar capabilities for capturing reference information and formatting citations in Word documents. Zotero is somewhat less complicated and is easier to install and use. However, EndNote may make more sense for you to use if, for example, you are a science major who frequently uses Web of Science to search for articles (because EndNote is integrated into that interface). Whitman has a site license for EndNote, so although the software is not free, you can get a copy to use for free while you are a student at Whitman.

Whitman currently supports both EndNote X7 and EndNote X8. However, Clarivate has introduced EndNote X9, so EndNote X7 is no longer supported by Clarivate. For example, you can no longer set up a sync of EndNote X7 on your computer with EndNote online (although if you had set up a sync before January 2018, it should still work). Choose EndNote X8 if you are setting up a new installation if X9 is not available.