How to fix the "a" and "b" after the year, but there are no duplicates.

aktn_laurac
Zotero gave me "a" and "b" after the year in both citatio and the bibliography list, but there are no duplicates.

For example, it gives me (Braun & Clarke, 2022a) in one place and (Braun & Clarke, 2022b) in another place. And in the list:
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022a). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022b). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE.

I only have one item in the library and always select the item from "My Library" in the red box. I also checked that the “Field codes instead of values” box was not selected.

I tried to delete the app, re-downloaded, downloaded in another PC, deleted all citation and references from my chapters, but the issue still here.
  • aktn_laurac
    When I initially open a new document, everything appears correct. However, it turned back to 'a' and 'b'.
  • damnation
    Turn on field codes; https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/word_field_codes

    You'll be able to see the ID of the Zotero items. It's the same for sure?
  • aktn_laurac
    Thanks, the citation ID are different, the how can I fix it?
  • dstillman
    It's just one of the things on this page:

    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/given_name_disambiguation
  • aktn_laurac
    But I can't see any duplicates in my library, are they hiding?
  • dstillman
    edited August 2, 2024
    There are multiple possibilities listed on that page. It explains exactly what to do.
  • aktn_laurac
    I think it might be caused by deleted items. I clicked on the citation, clicked Add/Edit Citation, clicked the blue bubble in the citation dialog, then I saw two same items under the citaed and one under my library.  could you please tell me how to fix it? I did not see how to fix those deleted items, sorry. I thought I had permanently deleted all items.
  • dstillman
    Deleted Items

    If you've made sure that the author's name is formatted consistently in Zotero, one or more of your items may be pointing to an item that you've deleted from Zotero. When this happens, Zotero uses metadata embedded in the document instead. To check whether an item is still linked to your Zotero library, click on the citation, click Add/Edit Citation, click the blue bubble in the citation dialog (red bar, not classic), and look for an “Open in [Library]” button at the bottom of the popup. If the button doesn't appear, the citation is no longer linked to Zotero, and you will need to delete the citation and reinsert it, being sure to select from the appropriate library rather than the “Cited” section in the citation dialog search results.
  • aktn_laurac
    Could I please check if I can delete the citation on word? I have tried to delete from the dialog but didn't work
  • dstillman
    edited August 2, 2024
    The text I quoted above tells you exactly what you need to do to fix this. You need to delete the citation in Word and then reinsert with Add/Edit Citation, choosing from the library section rather than Cited. Do that for each of the affected citations. That will fix it. There's nothing else I can tell you here.
  • aktn_laurac
    thank you for your help. I followed your advice, then selected the item from the library, but it gives me a 'c' after the year. if I select other two from the cited, it gives me a 'a' or 'b', so the issue is not fixed.
  • dstillman
    edited August 2, 2024
    Again, you need to do this for every single affected citation. If you stop for a moment and take a breath, I think you'll understand this: you have citations in your document that are no longer linked to Zotero, so Zotero is treating each one as a distinct item. You need to replace each one with a citation linked to the item currently in your library, so that Zotero treats them all as the same item. That's it.
  • aktn_laurac
    I understood what you said, so I deleted all the affected citations, then re-inserted them. This resulted in only one item under the library and no items under cited. However, the citation Zotero provides me has an 'a' after the year. A few years ago, someone else on the post experienced the same issue. https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/69614/no-duplicates-in-database-but-getting-a-b-etc-after-citation
  • adamsmith
    The linked thread got resolved exactly as described here.
    You can try switching to a different style and back to make sure all citations are refreshed. Do you see the a in your bibliography, too?
  • aktn_laurac
    I did exactly what you said, switched to another style and refreshed. the citations I got all have a after the year, and I can see the a in the bibliography with another list with a 'b'. so I didn't solve the issue. do you offer a zoom or team meeting?
  • dstillman
    edited August 2, 2024
    It sounds like you just still haven't replaced one of the citations in the document.

    If you toggle field codes, you should be able to find the citation for the other item, but if you send the document to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread, we can take a look. (We'll respond here.)
  • dstillman
    @aktn_laurac: You sent us screenshots, not the document.
  • aktn_laurac
    re-attached, could you please check?
  • dstillman
    You didn't attach a file.
  • aktn_laurac
    sorry, attached
  • dstillman
    edited August 2, 2024
    Right, so those Ness citations are for three different items. You didn't actually replace them with citations pointing to the same item in your library. Same with the others.

    I don't know what to tell you here — you're just not actually following the steps we've given. If you're having trouble with this, and you're at an institution, I'd recommend asking someone at your library to go through the process with you in person or via screen-sharing. But there's just not really anything else we can tell you here that we haven't said above.
  • aktn_laurac
    can we do it on the Zoom?
  • aktn_laurac
    I realised it was a wrong attachement, I have attached again, with only an 'a' after the year, but there are a and b in the bibliography, could you please check?
  • dstillman
    Once again, you didn't actually send a file.

    Sorry, but we can't keep going here. As I say, if you're affiliated with an institution, you should ask your library or IT department to help you follow our instructions to fix this.
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