Managing Reference Data with Zotero: Adding notes
Creating notes, citing other items in notes, and inserting notes into Word with active citations
In Zotero, each reference is an item. Items can have notes, files, and links attached to them.
- Note types
- Child note: Notes that are attached to existing items.
- Standalone note: Notes in your Zotero library that are not attached to any items.
- Add notes:
- Right-click an item and choose “Add note”, or click an item and go to the right column, click on Notes, and Add button. This allows you to attach your own text notes to items in your library.
- Within the built-in PDF reader, when the note pane is open, click the ellipsis button on any annotations -> Add to Note. When the note pane is not open, the Add to Note will be grayed out.
- Add note from annotations
- Right-click an item and choose "Add note from Annotations", or within the Zotero's built-in PDF reader, click on the Add Note button at the upper right corner -> "Add Item note from annotations". This will add all the annotations from the PDF file.
- Annotations added to notes aren’t just plain text:
- they include information about the source PDF that lets you quickly jump back to the original page to see context
- they include a citation by default as well, which generates citation and bibliography entries with Zotero's Add Note button in Zotero’s word processor plugin.
- they include information about the source PDF that lets you quickly jump back to the original page to see context
- Right-click an item and choose "Add note from Annotations", or within the Zotero's built-in PDF reader, click on the Add Note button at the upper right corner -> "Add Item note from annotations". This will add all the annotations from the PDF file.
- Cite other items directly in notes
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Click the [+] button on the note editor toolbar, you will see the familiar red dialogue box, search your item and insert it to your note.
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Insert notes into Word with active Zotero citations
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With the latest Zotero Word plugin, a new “Add Note” button is added on the Zotero toolbar. It lets you insert any Zotero note directly into the document.
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Click on Add Note, Zotero will prompt you to first choose a citation style if you start a new document or if you don’t have any citations in the document yet.
◦ Then a list of notes will appear, which you can choose from.
◦ Or you can use the yellow dialogue bar to search your notes in your Zotero library. -
When you select the note, the annotations in that note will be inserted into the document, along with citations to the original document. In other words, citations in the note, including those generated from PDF annotations, will remain active, so they’ll automatically be added to your bibliography.
• All of the annotations in the note will be added -- currently there is no way to select individual annotations in the note.
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Tips and tricks of using notes
- Tips and tricks of using notes
- You can tag notes the same way as you tag items. This will help you organize your notes and makes the notes more searchable.
- Notes are formatted text files. They synced together with item metadata. They don't count against your Zotero storage quota.
- Notes don't have titles. The first line of note becomes the title of the note.
- When a note is created from annotations, the heading says **Annotations (date, time)**. It will be easier to find the note if you rename the heading to something more easily recognizable, like the purpose of the annotation.
- Your notes won’t appear in your citation and bibliography. The note is for the convenience of your research.
- Possible use of note
- The filing number or location of a hard copy document/book.
- Which part of your thesis or which project is it for? For example, chapter 3 or a conference paper.
- Whether you need to follow up on this reference in some way? For example, request by inter-library loan. And an explanation of why you thought this reference could be a useful one to follow up on, for example: Cited in a Nature article or Recommended by your professor.
- A direct quotation which you intend to use (make sure to include the exact page number(s) for the quotation).
- To do list
- Summaries, thoughts or ideas when you are reading the materials
Using standalone notes for outlining
Open a standalone note in a separate window.
- Clicking on the ellipsis button in the note editor, Edit it in a separate window. Because the drag and drop feature will not work in the standard layout.
- From Zotero library, You can drag items and notes into the note.
- From the PDF viewer, you can drag annotations, non-annotation PDF text into the note.
- Once you have the text in the note, then you can drag them around as blocks to rearrange them,
Meanwhile, the note editor lets you add text around them, flesh them out, add bullet points and other formatting, etc.