Zotero, an open-source research and citation manager
Citation managers
Description: Zotero is an open-source research and citation manager for organising, citing, and sharing research materials. With Zotero, users can save references from web pages, PDFs, and other documents, and organise them into collections for easy retrieval and citation. It also supports different media files such as videos or audios. Zotero allows for collaborative research through common projects. It is free to use and offers additional storage through subscription plans. Users are required to sign up for an account to sync their library across multiple devices and collaborate with others. Zotero offers browser, desktop, and application versions. It was developed by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University and is now operated by the non-profit Corporation for Digital Scholarship.
Evaluation: Zotero is a useful tool for conducting research, together with storing, organising, and sharing results. For teachers, it can be a time-saving for sorting out teaching materials and additional academic resources, while students can use it to organise materials for projects. However, it is mainly employed by researchers as a research and citation manager. Zotero features lots of functionalities and does require familiarisation with the software and average IT skills.
Cost: Free + paid additional storage plans.
Usability and tech notes ▼
Time efficiency 
Time needed to learn how to use a tool and its time-saving potential: Medium; it requires familiarisation but then becomes very time-efficient.
Interface language(s) The number of languages in which the tool is currently available/adaptable to: 30+ languages.
Respect for privacy What data does the tool collect and why? What security measures are there? GDPR compliant? : High. Zotero collects different types of data, including user-provided information (e.g., name and email for account creation), library data (when users synchronise their library with Zotero servers), and attachment files for file syncing. Additionally, it logs IP addresses and browser information for security and diagnostic purposes. This serves various purposes, such as user account management yet neither marketing nor advertising. Zotero may share some personal data with third-party services for the running of the service, but it neither rents nor shares it. Concerning security, Zotero is designed as a local program when used in its desktop and applications versions, so by default, data is stored on users’ devices. However, when synchronisation or file syncing is enabled, then it is stored on the tool's servers. Zotero mentions taking security seriously and employing measures to protect user data. It provides users with the ability to disable various automatic communications and preferences. Users can also delete their accounts, although specific details about data modification or access requests are not provided in the policy. Zotero does not state compliance with the GDPR. See more here.
Saving work for future use Can work be saved for future use?: Yes, users with an account can access projects at any moment. For projects stored on the cloud, they can be accessed through login on any device.
Any other relevant information:
- Installation required?: Yes for the desktop version, which is easier to use.
- Compatibility/ Operating System: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS.