Import theses from worldcat.org?

I am just starting with Zotero.

I am attempting to import theses from worldcat.org
here is an example:
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/164594552&referer=brief_results

When I click the 'save to zotero' button in the address box it imports it as a book and the information is incomplete.

Can someone help a newbie?! What am I doing wrong here?
Thanks in advance,
Michael
  • you're not doing anything wrong, worldcat just gives out the wrong info, through a generic (COiNS) format. There's a nice, one-click workaround, though. Instead of the icon in the address bar, click on "Export to Endnote" instead. The result is an entry as a thesis that looks complete to me. (For that to work you need to have the preferences set right - I think to their default. If it doesn't work, on the tab general, make sure that the box "Use Zotero for Downloaded RIS/Refer files" is checked.)
  • Thanks adam.smith,

    I followed the directions as you suggested.
    The only problem is that the citation is still not complete. For example, the school was not entered. Was your citation complete?
    Thanks in advance,
  • nope, sorry, didn't check for that, just looked at citation type.
    Seems to be more of a worldcat problem - i.e. the endnote output provided by worldcat doesn't have the university anywhere either, so it's not Zotero failing to import, it's just not there (which I know is odd, because it _is_ on the page.
    Maybe one of the gurus can have a look - it could make sense to create a worldcat translator not based on the COiNS? - but for the time being I fear you may have to input the missing info manually
  • It looks like they may have changed their site, since there is a Worldcat.org translator that isn't finding anything. That should be fixed, but the translator just uses the RIS export, so it would only be as good as the "Export to EndNote" feature. This is all that's available from them via RIS:
    TY  - THES
    DB - WorldCat
    DP - http://worldcat.org
    ID - 164594552
    LA - English
    T1 - Vascular flora of Mount Jefferson State Natural Area and environs, Ashe County, North Carolina : a thesis
    A1 - Poindexter, Derick Bret.
    Y1 - 2006///
    ER -
    So, no school information. Also, DB, DP, and LA are, as far as I can tell, made up, as I don't see them in the RIS specification.
  • I guess I should report this to worldcat! Thanks for looking into it for me.
Sign In or Register to comment.