Zotero can be used to annotate and take notes from your research material,  keeping material all together in one place.

Zotero has several note options

• Item notes that are connected to a specific item in your library
• Standalone notes that are not connected to an item in your library.  
  (It is recommended to use 'item notes' as they are connected to bibliographic data, where as 'standalone notes' don't have any bibliographic data, therefore can't be used when citing a publication, using the Word/Google Doc plug in.)
• Add attachments or files
• Create notes from websites and PDFs

Item notes and standalone notes

• Click on the ‘New note' icon in the top toolbar in the middle
• If you have selected a specific item in your library, you can choose between ‘New Item Note’ to attach to a specific item or a ‘New Standalone Note’ to give the note a separate listing in your library.
  

• A free text field will then appear in the right hand column.

Add attachments and files

If you have any files or web links that you wish to add to an *existing* item in your Zotero library (such as notes about a specific item),  just click on the item you wish to attach it to then click 'Attach File' or 'Attach Web Link' 

If you add any files to your library but not attached to an existing item (such as a PDF of an article or general notes), click 'Add Attachment' or 'Add File'

Annotate and create notes from websites

Zotero saves webpage snapshots which will open in a reader pane within Zotero (double click on the title in the middle pane), enabling you to highlight or underline passages and also make notes.

Annotate and create notes from PDFs

PDFs will open in a reader pane within Zotero (double click on the title in the middle pane), enabling you to highlight or underline passages and also add text plus make notes. 

Cite your annotations and notes

Highlighted passages and annotations can be saved as a Zotero note, keeping all your notes in one place. They can then be used with the Word/GoogleDoc plug in, enabling you to add the notes directly to your document.

To extract highlighted passages and notes:

• Right click (ctrl-click on a Mac) and click on ‘Add Note from Annotations’
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• Your selected text will now be saved as an annotation and this will include the citation information needed to include this in your work.
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