Building student proficiency with scientific literature using the Zotero reference manager platform

While mastery of the scientific literature is a strongly desirable trait for undergraduate students, the sheer volume of the current literature has complicated the challenge of teaching scientific literacy. Part of the response to this ever-increasing volume of resources includes formal instruction in the use of reference manager software while engaging students with the primary literature. This article describes the incorporation of the reference manager program Zotero into a chemical literature course to facilitate the use of digital resources and to better enable them to use proper citation skills in their technical writing. BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 412415, 2011