Zotero

Zotero is not only a citation tool, but also an annotation tool, meaning that it has a suite of options designed to help you take notes on the sources you're using. There are two methods for taking notes in Zotero, and we'll go over them both:

1. Annotating PDFs
2. Maintaining a separate notes file attached to a Zotero record

You may be aware that when saving items from your browser to Zotero, the Zotero Connector will attempt to capture any available PDFs and include them as an attachment to the item record. If you have a record that does NOT have a PDF attached, you can always attach a PDF manually by downloading the file to your computer, then simply clicking and dragging it to the appropriate item record in Zotero.

You can quickly tell if a record includes an attached PDF by looking at the item listing in the central panel of Zotero. A PDF icon should display on the right side of the listing. Additionally, if you click the small arrow to the left of the item title, you will see the PDF itself listed directly underneath the item listing.

In addition to the convenience of having all of your files stored in one place, it can be helpful to include PDFs in Zotero records because Zotero provides a number of options for annotating (taking notes on) these PDFs. You'll begin by double-clicking on the PDF within the central panel of Zotero, which will open it in a new tab.

Once you're viewing the PDF, you can use the icons at the top of the page to annotate the text. You can add "sticky notes" with comments, type comments directly on the PDF, highlight or underline text, and more.

All of your annotations will also be visible in a panel to the left of the PDF; clicking on a specific annotation will automatically take you to that point in the document. Your annotations will save automatically, and will be visible in both the online and desktop versions of Zotero (as long as you have synced your online account with your desktop program).

In some cases, you may not want or be able to annotate PDFs of your sources -- for example, if the source you're using does not have a PDF file available. In these instances, another option for taking notes about your sources is to maintain a separate notes file which will be attached to your Zotero record.

You can start a notes file for a specific record by clicking on the item in Zotero, then clicking the yellow "Notes" icon that displays on the far right:

This will scroll you down to the bottom of the Zotero record, where you will see the yellow Notes icon again. Click the plus sign to create a new note.

You can then write the content of your note, which you can always add to and edit later. There are a suite of editing options at the top of the panel which will allow you to change the formatting of your note: you can add headings, change the color of text, insert hyperlinks, and more.

Notes will be visible directly underneath each Zotero listing by clicking the small arrow to the left of the item title. You can also always find your notes (and add more notes) by scrolling to the bottom of the item's full Zotero record.