Citation tool with a twist

Zotero is an interesting and comprehensive citation management tool. Unlike citation generators which format a citations for you, zotero works off the principle of capturing and storing data in a filing system as you find usable research sources. It allows you to attach notes to your data, tag your data, and keep track of documents as you work with them. You can also link to web pages and attach files to the citation information. Little "sticky" notes can even be created.

Ever wonder how to cite a youTube source? Zotero can help. Found a great source of books in a catalog and you want to store the list? Zotero can help. Need to review podcast information? Zotero can help. Database, artwork, radiocasts, film, blog entry, bills - zotero can help.

Getting started is a bit confusing, but there are videos online that can help. To utilize zotero, you must be running Firefox. Zotero is a Firefox extension and can be downloaded from here. From the zotero website itself, click on ztour to get a glimpse of how to use the tool. Also, youTube has more than one helpful video posted on zotero. Try this link here.

When it's time to create your bibliography, zotero can be used with document management software such as MS-Word or Google docs to build your citations. Additional plug-ins may be necessary. Accessed web pages can be archived through the "create new item from current page" icon which will capture a screen shot of the page you were looking at. So take a look at zotero, and give it a try. You may find it to be a very helpful citation management tool.