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References

There is no scientific writing without references

Scientific writing differs significantly from other written activities such as drawing up a newspaper article, writing a novel or updating a blog. Scientific writing “does not lead a life of its own” but always exists in some relation to what others have previously written about the topic. All arguments presented in a scientific text must be reliably validated. 

References help the authors to demonstrate the previous results they have been aware of, research methods they have used and how they have proportioned their own results to the interpretations of others. It is essential to report adequate details, i.e. references of the source publications used in the text. This is how the reader – for example, the supervisor of a thesis – can verify the reliability of the arguments used to support the presented hypotheses.  In addition, references give credit to whom credit is due. 

References and citations

Sources can be utilised in two different ways: 

  • reference (summarising/paraphrasing) is a way of expressing the thoughts of another author in your own words
  • citation (citing) is a direct quote from the text of another author. The citation is separated from your own text with quotation marks

The source publications used in a text must be referred to in a way that the references and citations can be easily recognised and found later on. If the source is not mentioned and if the quotation or material produced by someone else is presented as your own, you are guilty of plagiarism. It is a case of stealing intellectual property and it is strictly forbidden even when done unintentionally. Material found from the Internet is not available for everyone to copy and use freely. The copyright law applies also to the Internet.   

The reference process consists of two parts

  • references (textual references)
  • bibliography (list of references) 

There are several different styles and ways of recording references and compiling a bibliography. Furthermore, different disciplines use varying reference and citation practices. Therefore, the authors must always make sure that the reference practice used in their text complies with the practices of the intended faculty, organisation or publication.    

If you study at the University of Eastern Finland, you may find reference practices in UEF study communities.

Other guides to reference practices

Reference management program offers several advantages. It helps you in building and maintaining your personal database of all literature you need in your work. You can easily import search results from many different databases into the program. A reference management program streamlines your writing process. The program allows you to insert citations in a manuscript while you are preparing it. When the manuscript is finished, you can print it out with citations and a bibliography in a style of your choice.

Reference management programs

Mendeley is a reference management program produced by Elsevier. Like Zotero and other similar programs, Mendeley helps you to manage references and generate bibliographies.

Mendeley is available as a free of charge version and as a chargeable version. The free version provides you with 2 GB of web storage space. The chargeable version is not available at the University of Eastern Finland.

You have to create your personal free Elsevier account in order to use Mendeley. Do not create a new account if you already have one for another Elsevier product such as Scopus. 

Mendeley consists of three programs:

  1. Mendeley Reference Manager is a desktop application you install on your computer for managing references. You do not need administrator privileges for installation.
  2. Mendeley Web Importer installed on your browser enables easy importing of references and full articles from several databases to your Mendeley library.
  3. Mendeley Cite is an add-in program you install on your word processor (Word for Windows, Word for Mac, Word Online). The add-in is needed for adding citations and bibliographies to texts. PLEASE NOTE: Mendeley Cite does not work correctly if Track Changes function is turned on in Word. A single citation in text, for example, may be multiplied unintentionally.

Guides

How to use Zotero UEF citation styles in Mendeley Cite

At first download the style file you need from the end of the library's Zotero help page. Do not change the filename. 

After downloading proceed as follows:

  • Open Mendeley Visual CSL Editor and login with your Mendeley username and password.
  • Click Style -> Load Style in the top left corner and upload the Zotero style file from your computer.
  • Click Style -> Save Style As… in the top left corner.
  • The Save Style As window opens, click Save.
  • Click Cancel if Open MendeleyDesktop? window opens.
  • Locate Info area and ID field in the middle of the editor screen.
  • Copy the style URL from the ID field (https://csl.mendeley.com/styles/…).
  • Open Mendeley Cite in Word and click Citation Settings -> Change Citation Style.
  • Scroll to the end and click Add a custom style.
  • Paste the style URL to Enter custom style URL field.
  • Click Update citation style.

The style is now installed and is ready for use.

The new Zotero 7 was released in August 2024. The function and performance have been improved. Outward appearance of the program has been slightly modernized too. Nevertheless, it is fairly easy for existing Zotero 6 users to switch over to the new version. Learn more about the new version:

This guide was originally created for Zotero 6. The text has been updated to reflect the new version, but videos are for Zotero 6 at the moment. These videos are useful in learning the basic use of Zotero 7 as well. The videos will be updated as soon as new versions are released.

Zotero is a free open source reference management program maintained by the Corporation for Digital Scholarship in the USA. It is used as a desktop application that is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and iOS. The application is available in several languages. The installation defaults to the same language as your computer operating system. It is not necessary to create an user account if you use the application on a single computer only. Remember to  backup your Zotero database regularly.

Install the desktop application on an UEF computer from UEF Sofware Center. Install on a KYS (KUH) computer from KYS (KUH) Software Center. Software Center can be found in Windows with the taskbar search at the bottom of screen, next to the Windows or Start icon. Install on other computers from Zotero website. You need administrator privileges for installation from the website. Close your word processor before you start Zotero for the first time. This ensures the installation of citation add-in. You may reinstall the add-in later via Zotero desktop (please see Basic settings below for instructions). The database to be backed up is usually found in C:\Users\username\Zotero. See the backup instructions, please.

If you want to use Zotero on several computers, install the desktop application on all those computers and create your user account. The Zotero databases on individual computers are synchronized via the account. Please do not use a networked drive or a cloud storage space as a substitute for the user account. This may cause problems. There is unlimited storage space for references in the account. You may see the references in your account by logging in to Zotero website. The account also serves as a backup of your Zotero database. However we recommend a separate backup to be taken periodically, if at all possible.

Reference attachments such as publication pdf's are synchronized via Zotero Storage functionality. It is free until 300 megabytes (MB) are used. You may buy additional storage on the Zotero website.

Attachment file synchronization is enabled by default. It is a good idea to disable it, if you do not want to buy additional storage. Free storage is quite small. Non-synchronized files are saved only on one computer. You may also consider not to save any full texts at all. Zotero references can be easily linked to online publications. Please see Basic settings below for instructions.

Use Zotero Connector extension in your browser to add new references to Zotero. The extension is usually installed along with the desktop application and is compatible with Firefox, Chrome, Edge and Safari. You may reinstall the extension via Zotero desktop if necessary (please see Basic settings below for instructions). The extension finds citation information (metadata) automatically from search results and websites and saves the metadata to Zotero. Publication pdf's are also saved, if they are available and if attachment file saving is enabled in Zotero. It is also possible to import references as RIS files and as PubMed files.

In order to add citations to your text and create a bibliography you need a Zotero add-in in your word processor. The add-in is available for Word (stand-alone version), LibreOffice and Google Docs. It is not available for cloud (browser) based Word. The add-in is usually installed automatically when you start Zotero desktop for the first time. To ensure installation close your word processor before starting Zotero. You may reinstall the add-in later via Zotero desktop (please see Basic settings below for instructions). The add-in does not require any additional programs such as Java. There are about 10 500 ready-made citation styles available. The styles are created with CSL language and they may be edited if necessary. See How to install UEF citation styles at the end of this guide about how to install specific UEF citation styles. The styles are not synchronized. Install the styles you need on all necessary computers.

Guides

Video guides (Zotero 6 and older versions)

Basic settings

How to change language in the desktop application

  • Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Settings.
  • Click General in the Zotero Settings window.
  • Select the language from the Language: menu.
  • Restart the desktop application.

How to increase font size in the desktop application

  • Click View in the Zotero menu bar and select Font Size.
  • Click Bigger.
  • You may repeat the procedure until the font is large enough.

How to install Zotero Connector

  • Click Tools in the Zotero menu bar and select Install Browser Connector.
  • Select the browser you use and click Install.

How to disable attachment file synchronization

  • Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Settings.
  • Click Sync in the Zotero Settings window.
  • Uncheck both items in File Syncing.
  • Close Zotero Settings window.

How to disable automatic saving of attachment files

  • Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Settings.
  • Click General in the Zotero Settings window.
  • Uncheck Automatically attach associated PDFs and other files when saving items.
  • Close Zotero Settings window.

How to link UEF Primo e-journal articles to your Zotero references

  • Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Settings.
  • Click General in the Zotero Settings window.
  • Find Locate area and type https://libkey.io/libraries/1029/openurl to Base URL: field.
  • Close Zotero Settings window.

How to open e-journal articles

  • Click the title of the article you want to open in the Zotero desktop.
  • Click the straight grey arrow inside a circle at the right edge of the Zotero window and select Library Lookup.
  • Enter your UEF username and password, if asked for.
  • Article opens in a little while, if e-version is available.

How to simplify the use of word processor citation add-in

  • Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Settings.
  • Click Cite in the Zotero Settings window and find Word Processors area.
  • Check the box Use classic Add Citation dialog.
  • Close Zotero Settings window.

How to install Word citation add-in

  • Exit Word completely (all open files).
  • Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Settings.
  • Click Cite in the Zotero Settings window and find Word Processors area.
  • Click Reinstall Microsoft Word Add-in.
  • Check the box Use classic Add Citation dialog.
  • Close Zotero Settings window.

How to install UEF citation styles

The styles format the most used sources: book, book chapter, journal article, Internet source/webpage. If you use other sources also, write citations to them manually according to instructions provided by your department. 

After you have downloaded the style file:

  • Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Settings.
  • Click Cite in the Zotero Settings window.
  • Click a button marked with plus sign in Style Manager.
  • Find the downloaded style file in Add Style window and click Open.
  • Close Zotero Settings window.

The style is now installed and is ready for use.

For more information: information.services@uef.fi