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Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
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Sep 22 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Recently, I wrote a bunch of Zotero tutorials that went (mildly) viral on #AcademicTwitter.

Thought I'd put them all together so folks can find them easily.

So, here goes 👇

Zotero 101: A meta-thread 🧵

Retweet to share it with your friends/colleagues.
1. Getting started

This thread will teach you how to:
• Install Zotero
• Build your library
• Create in-text citations in MS Word/Google Docs
• Create bibliographies

2. Adding items to your library

This thread will teach you four ways to add items to your library:
• Zotero Connector
• Item identifiers like DOI, ISBN, etc.
• Manually adding a PDF
• By manually entering meta-data of an item

3. Annotating PDFs in Zotero

This thread will teach you how to:
• Annotate PDFs
• Take notes in Zotero

4. Syncing your Zotero library

This thread will teach you how to sync your Zotero library so you can access it anywhere on any device.

Note: You can only annotate PDFs on Zotero Desktop app. You can't do it online.

5. Collaborative Annotations

This thread will teach you how to:
• Make Zotero groups
• Annotate a PDF as a group/class

6. Moving Mendeley to Zotero

This thread will teach you how to import your library from Mendeley to Zotero.

Note: Zotero will dump the contents of all your folders on Mendeley in one single folder in Zotero.

Found this thread useful?

Follow me @MushtaqBilalPhD for regular tips on Zotero and academic writing.
IMPORTANT CORRECTION:

According to Zotero, if you import your library from Mendeley, Zotero will NOT dump all folders in a single folder. Instead, it will import the folders the way they were in Mendeley.

Folks who import from Mendeley, please share your experiences.

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More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Sep 19
Really excited to share that my students and I have started doing collaborative annotations on Zotero 🤗

The small red box in the photo is the first annotation that a student did today.

The moment I saw it on the screen I felt an enormous rush of dopamine 😀 Collaborative annotating on...
We were discussing this paragraph from Benedict Anderson's "Imagined Communities" and close-reading the first line.

I told them to pay attention to the highlighted sentence on two levels: semantic and lexical. Image
They understood it very easily on the semantic level.

But it took them a second to figure out why I was asking them to pay attention to it on the lexical level.

It took a bit of back and forth and then a student said Anderson's language is not inclusive.
Read 4 tweets
Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Sep 16
A lot of folks who have started using Zotero recently still don't know how to sync their libraries.

Why sync?

It enables you to access your library on multiple devices, and online.

This is how you sync your Zotero library 🧵
Start by logging into your Zotero account. Zotero.org landing page. A ...
Open Zotero Desktop app.

Go to "Edit" and click on "Preferences." A dialog box in Zotero Desk...
Read 6 tweets
Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Sep 15
How to Publish Your First Journal Article

🧵
Forget about publishing a journal article for a minute.

Imagine you are in 18th century Paris - a city full of literary salons where people gather to engage in all sorts of intellectual discussions. Marie Geoffrin's literary salon (c.1755)
You walk into a literary salon and see people are discussing a topic that you are also interested in.

You realize you can also contribute to the conversation.

But before you say anything, you listen intently to the conversation and formulate your thoughts on a notepad.
Read 21 tweets
Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Sep 11
Zotero has this REALLY COOL FEATURE that lets you make groups and do "collaborative annotations."

But most folks don't know about it.

Here's how to get started 👇

A step-by-step guide with visuals 🧵
Start by making a Zotero group.

Go to zotero.org and log in to your account. Zotero's landing page with a yellow arrow pointing towards &
Once logged in, click the "Groups" tab. Zotero's main user interface with a yellow arrow pointing to
Read 24 tweets
Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Sep 4
A lot of academics migrated to Zotero after Mendeley Desktop got shut down on Sept. 1.

But MOST FOLKS still DON'T KNOW how to build their Zotero libraries.

Here are 4⃣ SIMPLE ways to add items to your Zotero library 👇

A step-by-step tutorial with visuals 🧵
1⃣ The simplest, and easiest, way to add items to your library is through Zotero Connector(s).

Zotero Connectors are extensions or add-ons for internet browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.

Start by installing the Zotero Connector for your internet browser. Zotero Connector for Microsoft Edge
After you've installed the Zotero Connector, you may see a small icon on the top right corner of your internet browser. Zotero Connector installed in Google Chrome
Read 24 tweets
Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Aug 30
Every academic knows that the BEST software for citation and reference management is Zotero.

BUT many folks don't know how to take notes and annotate PDFs in Zotero.

Here's how to get started 👇

Zotero Annotations 101: A step-by-step guide with visuals 🧵
Download a PDF and drag it to Zotero's main panel. Zotero's main interface with a PDF document.
This is how your PDF will look initially in the main panel. A PDF document shown in Zotero's main panel.
Read 19 tweets

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