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use_cases [2010/01/26 23:27] – seanuse_cases [2012/02/27 12:12] – [Theses and Dissertations] rmzelle
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 A thesis paper is like a research paper, only much more so. For that reason, it should be apparent that the features explained in the previous section should be that much more important. Backup and the word processor plugins are both absolutely essential. Certainly, people have written theses and dissertations without Zotero, and continue to do so, but any systems used to duplicate its coordinative features consume a great deal of time and effort. Zotero streamlines the whole process and lets you devote more time to research and writing. A thesis paper is like a research paper, only much more so. For that reason, it should be apparent that the features explained in the previous section should be that much more important. Backup and the word processor plugins are both absolutely essential. Certainly, people have written theses and dissertations without Zotero, and continue to do so, but any systems used to duplicate its coordinative features consume a great deal of time and effort. Zotero streamlines the whole process and lets you devote more time to research and writing.
  
-Zotero's advantages do not solely relate to coordination and logistics, however. When all your research materials reside in your Zotero library, you can uncover new information through the [[tags]] and [[finding_and_sorting|search]] features. When importing items from certain sites, say, books from the Library of Congress, or photographs from Flickr, Zotero can automatically attach relevant tags supplied by the site. You can also add tags yourself, if you have a particular tag scheme you wish to implement, or there is some data you can use to link related items. +Zotero's advantages do not solely relate to coordination and logistics, however. When all your research materials reside in your Zotero library, you can uncover new information through the [[collections_and_tags#tags|tags]] and [[finding_and_sorting|search]] features. When importing items from certain sites, say, books from the Library of Congress, or photographs from Flickr, Zotero can automatically attach relevant tags supplied by the site. You can also add tags yourself, if you have a particular tag scheme you wish to implement, or there is some data you can use to link related items. 
  
 While tags add depth and complexity to the data at your disposal, even without them, the advanced search feature can help you glean new information from your library. Let's say you're studying literary criticism of Shakespeare's Hamlet throughout the 20th century. You could pull down all the articles so labeled from Lexis-Nexis within your timeframe, complete with abstracts. That should produce a fairly comprehensive collection. That's an awful lot of information to sift through, though. By conducting and saving searches for each decade, you can easily notice any gaps in your collection. This could mean either that your data for, say, the 1920s is not as complete as you would like or that literary criticism of Hamlet actually dropped off during that decade. It would be a simple matter to check these theories against other sources, and is useful information, either way. If you save your searches, it's a simple matter to monitor different elements of your library as it changes and grows, bringing important trends to the fore. While tags add depth and complexity to the data at your disposal, even without them, the advanced search feature can help you glean new information from your library. Let's say you're studying literary criticism of Shakespeare's Hamlet throughout the 20th century. You could pull down all the articles so labeled from Lexis-Nexis within your timeframe, complete with abstracts. That should produce a fairly comprehensive collection. That's an awful lot of information to sift through, though. By conducting and saving searches for each decade, you can easily notice any gaps in your collection. This could mean either that your data for, say, the 1920s is not as complete as you would like or that literary criticism of Hamlet actually dropped off during that decade. It would be a simple matter to check these theories against other sources, and is useful information, either way. If you save your searches, it's a simple matter to monitor different elements of your library as it changes and grows, bringing important trends to the fore.
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 An important thing to note is that Zotero's word processor plugins do not support the use of master documents. Each document is taken separately and a master bibliography cannot be created without pasting the full text of each document with citations into a single document. You can, of course, do this once, when your work is complete, and delete the document afterward if you have no further use for it. An important thing to note is that Zotero's word processor plugins do not support the use of master documents. Each document is taken separately and a master bibliography cannot be created without pasting the full text of each document with citations into a single document. You can, of course, do this once, when your work is complete, and delete the document afterward if you have no further use for it.
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 ===== Other Uses ===== ===== Other Uses =====
  
 Zotero lends itself to use in many other respects. By using Zotero throughout their academic careers, grad students can have a complete repository of notes and reactions at their disposal when it comes times to take comprehensive exams. You can prepare for oral exams by tailoring searches and using the results in much the way you would use flashcards, checking your knowledge of important documents and ideas against details stored in your library.  Zotero lends itself to use in many other respects. By using Zotero throughout their academic careers, grad students can have a complete repository of notes and reactions at their disposal when it comes times to take comprehensive exams. You can prepare for oral exams by tailoring searches and using the results in much the way you would use flashcards, checking your knowledge of important documents and ideas against details stored in your library. 
  
-If you are part of a small group collaborating on a project, you can, using Zotero 2.0, create a Zotero group to share a library between the group members. This makes it easy to keep up on research each group member is conducting and sharing thoughts and ideas. Larger groups can integrate Zotero citations into collaborative websites, using [[/dev/making_COinS|COinS]] to create [[http://www.zotero.org/blog/bibliographies-and-syllabi-just-got-smarter/|smart bibliographies]] that collaborators can easily import into their own Zotero library. Libraries or collections can be exported, complete with files, to a variety of different formats, allowing for easy sharing and importing of large amounts of data. +If you are part of a small group collaborating on a project, you can, using Zotero 2.0, create a Zotero group to share a library between the group members. This makes it easy to keep up on research each group member is conducting and sharing thoughts and ideas. Larger groups can integrate Zotero citations into collaborative websites, using [[/support/dev/exposing_metadata/coins|COinS]] to create [[http://www.zotero.org/blog/bibliographies-and-syllabi-just-got-smarter/|smart bibliographies]] that collaborators can easily import into their own Zotero library. Libraries or collections can be exported, complete with files, to a variety of different formats, allowing for easy sharing and importing of large amounts of data. 
  
 Teachers instructing students in the process of conducting research can evaluate their progress by having them generate Zotero [[reports]] of the sources they have compiled to that point.  Teachers instructing students in the process of conducting research can evaluate their progress by having them generate Zotero [[reports]] of the sources they have compiled to that point.