Citation of multiple sources from the same programmer - getting the same citation

michaelbbarr
Hello,
This is a clumsy one to describe and I appreciate your patience if it has already been addressed.

Background: I use ChatGPT to explore ideas and create a unique source for each prompt-response output. I have created four sources, each with a unique prompt and response. Each is given the type 'Software'. I identified the programmer as OpenAI for each source and put the date in the date field.

Usage: I am writing and wish to cite one of the sources using , and then paste the citation into my writing.

Problem: The citation is the same regardless of which source I use, e.g., for each, it says OpenAI, 2025. I would expect the earliest source to have that, but not the others, e.g., the second one would be something like OpenAI, 2025a, OpenAI, 2025b, etc. This is expected functionality for other types of sources, so I'm wondering if there is something weird about using the item type of 'software?'

Workaround: It's not pretty, but if I get rid of the programmer name, the citation then looks something like , 2025, and because each source title is different, each citation is different.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

M
  • adamsmith
    Which citation style? The a,b,c suffixes should generally happen automatically, regardless of item type..
  • michaelbbarr
    edited 19 days ago
    Yes, I assume the suffixes would generally happen, as you say.

    I'm using APA, the standard one in Zotero. Nothing fancy or any modifications exist, and it has pure vanilla settings.
  • adamsmith
    This is in which word processor? And you are adding citations using the add/edit citation button? Does clicking 'Refresh' help? Switching to a different style & back? Also, which Zotero version?
  • michaelbbarr
    I'm writing in Excel and pasting the clipboard's contents into a cell, i.e., not using Zotero import/citation/synch functionality. In Zotero, I right-click on the source and select 'Create bibliography from item.' I am copying the citation to the clipboard (output mode: citations; output method: copy to clipboard). I'm not switching between styles or anything like that. I'm using Zotero ver.7.0.11 (64-bit).
    Thanks,
    M
  • adamsmith
    Oh, then theres no way Zotero could know that you have several items with the same author. The a,b,c only work -- can only work -- with the word processor add-ons. The only way you would get the a,b,c to the clipboard is by creating the bibliography of all items at once.
  • michaelbbarr
    Got it, thanks. My workflow is to export the annotation writing for a source from Excel into Zotero as a note in that source. From there, I will import the source and note(s) into Roam Research, where I will reference the source using the @, p.# convention. From there, I export it to markdown, process it in Zettlr and export it to MS Word, where a Reference section is created. Throughout the Word document, I see the expected , , etc., where cited in the writing, and I see the same convention in the Reference section. So, for the purposes of my annotation/smart notes writing in Excel, I will create a column that contains the @, p.# convention so when it is imported into Roam it will work.

    Thanks for that. A good learning session.
    Best,
    M

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