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
- Aalto University: citation guide and visual resources
- University of Oulu
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:
- Mendeley Reference Manager is a desktop application you install on your computer for managing references. You do not need administrator privileges for installation.
- Mendeley Web Importer installed on your browser enables easy importing of references and full articles from several databases to your Mendeley library.
- 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 Mendeley Reference Manager: complete beginner's guide (a video by Steven Bradburn, 16:53)
- How To Use Mendeley 2023 (Including Web Importer & Cite) (a video by Grad Coach, 21:17)
- Mendeley 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.
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. You do not need administrator privileges for installation. If administrator username and password are asked for, bypass (cancel) them. It is not necessary to create an user account if you use the application on 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 left corner of screen, next to the Windows icon. Install on other computers from Zotero 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 Java. There are about 10 000 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 page about how to install specific UEF citation styles. The styles are not synchronized. Install the styles you need on all necessary computers.
Guides
- Zotero's own support pages
- Zotero: getting started (Harvard University Library)
Video guides
- How to use Zotero: a complete beginner's guide (Steven Bradburn,12:40)
- How to install Zotero (Georgia State University Library, 1:21)
- Setting up your account and synchronizing your library (Georgia State University Library, 3:14)
- Saving references to your library (Georgia State University Library, 3:39)
- Importing RIS files into Zotero (Georgetown University Library, 1:30)
- Adding references into Zotero via manual entry (National University of Singapore Libraries, 3:17)
- Organize your Zotero library (University of New Brunswick Libraries, 2:56)
- Identifying and merging duplicates (MGH Institute of Health Professions, Janis P. Bellack Library, 2:41)
- Setting up shared group libraries (Georgia State University Library, 5:04)
- Adding citations and creating bibliographies with the Word toolbar (Georgia State University Library, 3:44)
- Creating citations & references (Idaho State University Libraries, 7:20)
- Creating quick bibliographies using Zotero (Georgia State University Library, 1:32)
- Using ZoteroBib to make easy bibliographies (Georgia State University Library, 3:28)
- Editing a citation style sheet for Zotero (University of Akron Libraries, 3:26)
Basic settings
How to change language in the desktop application
- Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Preferences.
- Click Advanced in the Zotero Preferences window.
- Click General tab.
- Select the language from the Language: menu and click OK.
- 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 Preferences.
- Click Sync in the Zotero Preferences window.
- Uncheck both items in File Syncing and click OK.
How to disable automatic saving of attachment files
- Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Preferences.
- Click General in the Zotero Preferences window.
- Uncheck Automatically attach associated PDFs and other files when saving items.
- Click OK.
How to link UEF Primo e-journal articles to your Zotero references
- Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Preferences.
- Click Advanced in the Zotero Preferences window.
- Click General tab.
- Type https://libkey.io/libraries/1029/openurl to OpenURL Resolver: and click OK.
How to open e-journal articles
- Click the title of the article you want to open in the Zotero desktop.
- Click the straight green arrow at the top right corner of the reference list 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 Preferences.
- Click Cite and then Word Processors in the Zotero Preferences window.
- Check the box Use classic Add Citation dialog and click OK.
How to install Word citation add-in
- Exit Word completely (all open files).
- Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Preferences.
- Click Cite and then Word Processors in the Zotero Preferences window.
- Click Reinstall Microsoft Word Add-in.
- Check the box Use classic Add Citation dialog and click OK.
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.
- Dissertations in Forestry: download the style file in English from here. Do not change the filename.
- Harvard style without italics: download the style file in English from here. Do not change the filename.
- Master's theses in Biomedicine: download the style file in English from here. Do not change the filename.
- MPH theses: download the style file in English from here. Do not change the filename.
- School of Pharmacy theses: download the style file in English from here. Do not change the filename.
After you have downloaded the style file:
- Click Edit in the Zotero menu bar and select Preferences.
- Click Cite in the Zotero Preferences window.
- Click button marked with plus sign in Style Manager.
- Find the downloaded style file in Add Style window and click Open.
- Click OK.
The style is now installed and is ready for use.