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Gregory C. Mason

Research and teaching in public-policy

  • Publications
    • Agricultural Commentary
    • Articles (academic)
    • Chapters in Books
    • Current Research and Working Papers
    • Book Reviews
    • Technical Reports & Monographs
    • Workshops & Presentations
  • Guiding the Invisible Hand
  • Teaching
    • Resources for students
    • Economic Analytics Using Computer Methods
  • ISER
  • Economic Analytics
    • Methodology Notes
  • Mincome
  • PRA INC.

Resources for students

This pages offers resources for students in undertaking economic research.

Citations and Bibliographies Using Zotero

Academic and technical writing requires references to establishing the context for a topic, place the research within its academic lineage, and create authority. Zotero is a powerful reference manager that allows researchers (and that includes students!) to organize digital objects on a personal cloud server. A digital object can be a recording or picture or text such as a .pdf or .docx file. In addition to creating an archive, Zotero supports the creation of inline citations and the creation of bibliographies in a range of formats..

Zotero replaces the common practice of downloading and storing articles and other images on one’s personal computer, with a system that links these objects to an external server. More advanced applications of Zotero support shared libraries to allow teams the share access to the same documents/objectives.

These seven videos present the basics of Zotero (version 6), implemented within a Windows system. Zotero works equally well with a Mac. (Click on the title to bring up the video.) Use the <– back button in Vimeo (top left) to return to this page.

  • Downloading and installing Zotero

Zotero installs easily on a PC or Mac. You will need to use the Google Chrome browser for the best experience

  • The Zotero Dashboard

Zotero appears similar to the Windows file structure, with two additional panes: One records the basic attributes of the document, and the second captures the metadata (information about data) that may be embedded in the document, or added manually by the researcher. 

  • Effective searching (using the University of Manitoba library system)

Students at the University of Manitoba should start their literature searches using the University of Manitoba library system.

  • Effective Searching (using Google Scholar)

Google Scholar (not Google!) is a common starting point for many researchers.  Learning how to create filters to shape a search is an essential research skill that reduces time and targets the most relevant material.  Note: many subject matter databases exist in Economics.   Those researching health will want to use PubMed.

  • Adding to your Zotero library (references with embedded metadata)

Most academic and technical articles (at least over the last decade) have embedded metadata that records the publication, author(s), dates, etc. Zotero uses this information to create bibliographies.

  • Adding to your Zotero library (references without embedded metadata)

Older material or scanned documents, and interviews, videos and the like will require the researcher to enter this manually. Zotero also supports notes and tags which are powerful ways to review and synthesize material.

  • Citations and bibliographies

Inline citations are now the standard in most academic disciplines, law being a notable exception. Zotero assembles all the citations into a bibliography following the format of the researcher’s choosing.

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Latest Commentary

Inflation is bred to the bone

October 19, 2022 By Greg Mason

Financial Post, September 28, 2022 The current spike in inflation has its origin in the pandemic, which in one respect is good news: supply chains will eventually unclog and pent-up spending will abate, either because interest rates bite or financial markets force governments to pare back. Read more

Time for an adult conversation about taxes

September 21, 2022 By Greg Mason

Winnipeg Free Press, September 2, 2022 Earlier this year while cleaning out some old files I found my property tax assessment from 1993. I  had just received my 2022 assessment, and my economist’s “spidy” sense tingled. This mental itch kicks in when we economists compare costs and prices over time – we automatically adjust for […]

To boost or not to boost?

August 14, 2022 By Greg Mason

Winnipeg Free Press, August 1, 2022 With apologies to The Clash, that iconic band from the 80s, “Darling you got to let me know, Should I vaxx or should I wait?” Let us be clear. I am a vaccine enthusiast. When the shingles vaccine became available, I was there in a flash. I get the […]

The search for the truth never ends

May 31, 2022 By Greg Mason

Winnipeg Free Press, May 30, 2022 Tributes to David Milgaard all highlight the strength of an individual who persevered through more that two decades of imprisonment for a murder he never committed. His mother Joyce Milgaard, Lloyd Axworthy, and the lawyer who believed his story, Hersch Wolch, deserve recognition for their efforts in righting a […]

We need COVID measures we can trust

April 14, 2022 By Greg Mason

Winnipeg Free Press, April 8, 2022 It is curious that the only recent indicator I have seen that COVID-19 still stalks us is that Kyle Connor and Nate Schmidt of the Winnipeg Jets were placed in virus protocol last week. I do not know what Canada’s self-styled virologists in chief (Stefanson, Kenney, Ford et al) […]

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About

Specializing in economic policy, the basic annual income, health economics, and Indigenous economics, Greg joined the Department of Economics at the University of Manitoba in 1974. Recently he has written on the economics of COVID, telemedicine, electronic health records, the modern annuity, and urban reserves.

Recent

  • Inflation is bred to the bone
  • Time for an adult conversation about taxes
  • To boost or not to boost?
  • The search for the truth never ends
  • We need COVID measures we can trust

Copyright © 2023 Gregory C. Mason