Zotero in Word: Abbreviated Journal Titles for ACS
Zotero automatically installs its Word plugins when you install the reference manager itself. If you are looking to turn on journal title abbreviations with the Word plugin, open Word, and follow these three steps.
- Click on the Zotero tab in Word.
- Click on the Document Preferences button in the Zotero tab.
- In the pop-up window, find the checkbox next to the phrase "Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations." Check this box and close the window. Zotero will now abbreviate journal titles in your citations.
These three steps are shown in the gif below as well. (Click the gif to view larger.)
Science Writing in Chemistry
Science writing, and writing for chemistry, is a skill that takes time and practice to master. Find resources to help you including guidebooks and best practices for writing journal articles, research proposals, and scientific posters here.
- UNCW Writing Center at ULCThe Writing Center in the University Learning Center is located on the first floor of DePaolo Hall (DE 1003). You can make appointments with writing consultants in person or on Zoom, drop in during Writing Lab hours, or submit papers online for feedback. The Writing Center can assist with writing and citation help.
- Writing Guide for Chemistry (Oregon State University)The ULC Writing Services are extremely helpful, but for more specific types of writing like that expected in chemistry, you can check this guide from Oregon State for some helpful tips and practices.
Write Like a Chemist by Call Number: QD9.15 .W75 2008Write Like a Chemist offers a structured approach to writing that targets four important chemistry genres: journal article, conference abstract, scientific poster, and research proposal. The book teaches readers to analyze what they read and then write their own, stressing concise writing, organizational skills, and audience. With hundreds of excerpts from published work, this resource is useful for chemistry students, post-docs, faculty, and other professionals who seek to perfect their disciplinary writing.
ACS Citation Style
- ACS Citation Style: Journal ArticlesThe American Chemical Society is a common style for citations in chemistry and biochemistry. However, it is also very different from styles like MLA and APA. This guide offers a step by step in constructing citations in ACS format, including journal title abbreviations. You can download the PDF at the link above, or view the embedded PDF below.
- ACS Citation Style: Quick GuideFor other types of resources (like books, patents, or websites), the ACS Style Quick Guide is a useful resource with example citations to guide you.
- ZoteroBib Citation GeneratorFor quick generation of formatted references, ZoteroBib is a free citation generator that includes ACS style.
Note: ZoteroBib does not automatically abbreviate journal titles in journal article citations.
- CAS Source Index for Journal TitlesThe CAS Source Index (CASSI) search tool provides official abbreviations for journal titles. Use this tool to search for a full journal title and check or correct the abbreviated title in your reference list.
- Science and Engineering Journal Abbreviations (University of British Columbia)Use this tool, made by UBC's Woodward Library, to quickly and easily look up journal abbreviations for a variety of science and engineering journals.
Reference Managers and Citation Plugins
- EndNote OnlineRequires non-UNCW login.
EndNote Online is a reference manager that is freely available and linked to the database Web of Science. EndNote Online also has a Word plugin to help generate citations. For more information about EndNote, please check our EndNote guide.
- MendeleyRequires non-UNCW login.
Mendeley is a free reference manager that is tied to the publisher Elsevier and its databases, including ScienceDirect. Mendeley's citation plugin is not currently available for UNCW users.
- ZoteroLogin not required.
Zotero is a free reference manager that can automatically abbreviate journal titles with a word processor plugin. This is particularly useful for anyone using ACS style, or other citation styles that require abbreviated journal titles. For more information about Zotero, please check our Zotero guide.
Which reference manager is right for me?
Which reference manager is right for me?
All the reference managers listed have access to many thousands of citation styles. They all also are bundled with citation plugins for word processors and with a variety of browser extensions for citation and reference management. All these reference managers have the ability to share their libraries with others and work collaboratively as well.
EndNote Online is free software published by the company Clarivate. While EndNote Online is free and runs on your web browser, a paid license for EndNote X20 gives access to a desktop client with significantly more features, including the ability to automatically abbreviate journal titles. However, EndNote Online alone has a robust citation plugin and is deeply integrated into Web of Science, a large multidisciplinary database with many features itself. EndNote Online requires some setup but is simple afterward. For more details, please see our guide to EndNote Online.
If you:
- frequently use Web of Science as your primary literature search location;
- collaborate with other Web of Science and EndNote users;
- or you would like to use a citation plugin with Word that is easy to navigate once set up, you might prefer EndNote.
Zotero is a free open-source software published by the Corporation for Digital Scholarship. Additional cloud storage can be purchased for Zotero for a subscription fee, but Zotero can store files locally on your computer instead if you download the desktop version. The program also has a built in PDF reader and PDF annotation features. Zotero's citation plugin is easy to set up but can be slightly difficult to navigate for new users. Zotero is not integrated into databases, but it does come with a Zotero Connector browser extension to allow for easy reference capture. For more details, please see our guide to using Zotero.
If you:
- use abbreviated journal titles in your discipline and want to automatically generate these in citations;
- frequently use many databases for literature searching and need to save resources from many places;
- prefer to take notes on articles as you read them;
- or you want to take advantage of open-source software and add plugins or other features, you might prefer Zotero.
Reference managers are all about your preference! Try different tools and find what works best for you.