Zotero in Word generates citations and bibliographies that dont match citation style

dionne

Hi
I am using Zotero linked to citations in my Word for Mac 2011. The in-text citations and bibliography do not match the APA style, even though I chose APA as the style. I make the changes manually, but every time I add a new citation, all the changes are gone and I am back to square one. Please help. I was so thrilled to discover Zotero. It reduced work so much but now I realize that it results in more work!
Thanks
Dionne

adamsmith

could you be more explicit? What are you seeing as citations and bibliography?
Is the same true in a new document?

dionne

Hi Adam,
Thanks for your response.

I am using the APA style - the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed.

According to my library website, the guidelines are as follows:
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/apa

According to this style guide
In-text citations should appear as:
(Turner, 2007)
Reference citations should appear as:
Ledger, W., Wiebinga, C., Anderson, P., Irwin, D., Holman, A., & Lloyd, A. (2009). Costs and outcomes associated with IVF using recombinant FSH. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 19(3), 337-342. Retrieved from http://www.rbmonline.com/
What Zotero is generating is:

(Fikret Berkes, M. K. Berkes, and Fast 2007) [ it is supposed to be (Berkes et al., 2007)]

(D. Armitage and Plummer 2010) [notice, it has the initials in front of one name - not even consistent]

(H. P. Huntington, S. Gearheard, and L. Kielsen-Holm 2010), [initials in front of the name]

The Reference in the bibliography isn't listing all the co-authors and it is listing first names (sometimes)
eg.
Chapin III, F. Stuart et al. 2010. “Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet.” Trends in Ecology & Evolution 25(4):241–249. Retrieved July 20, 2011.

Hughes, Terence P. et al. 2007. “Adaptive Management of the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon World Heritage Areas.” AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 36:586–592. Retrieved October 15, 2011.

Hope this explains it better!
Thank you,
Dionne

fbennett

@dionne: Please read through the citation guide again. You say:

(Fikret Berkes, M. K. Berkes, and Fast 2007) [ it is supposed to be (Berkes et al., 2007)]

On a quick check under the link you provided I found this:

When a work has three, four or five authors, name all authors the first time the reference occurs; in the first subsequent citation use only the first author, followed by "et al." and a year.

The Zotero style for APA 6th is set up to do exactly that. Not sure about the rest of the discrepancies you flag; please check them again (preferably against an actual copy of APA 6th edition), and if you are certain something is not conformant to the style, someone will be happy to help.

adamsmith

About the initials - see here:
http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/given_name_disambiguation

The bibliography, however, looks completely wrong and I don't see how Zotero would do that - the style would never use full first names, would always print seven names before et al and would under no conditions add a retrieved date for journal articles.

Re-install the style from the repository. Also, try this in a new document - just two or three references and a bibliography - to see if it persists.