Marx Max can work with a local Zotero library to search metadata, read child notes, locate available PDFs, and generate references or BibTeX for selected items. Start with a few papers you have collected and connect your reading questions with the materials actually obtained and your own notes.
This revisits your library; it is not a comprehensive search of all relevant research. Use online literature search to discover papers outside the library. Full-text access still depends on the source and your permissions.
First inspect the metadata exercise and download practice materials. Two real records and a reading template help you practice checking, importing, and framing a task.
Select the library for this task
Ensure the library is available on your computer. If multiple libraries are found, choose the source in the Zotero extension application in Marx Max. To read a PDF, verify that the attachment actually exists locally, rather than assuming an item or remote link supplies the file.
Start with a bounded search:
Search my local Zotero library for papers about labor supply. Return titles, authors, years, and existing publication information first. Do not read full text or add notes yet. I will select the papers for this task.
Where appropriate, narrow the search by author, year, collection, or tag. If nothing matches, check the source and search conditions; one unmatched keyword does not establish that a paper is absent.
Separate metadata, notes, and full text
Metadata identifies a paper, child notes record reading, and a PDF may supply the full text. Finding an item does not mean AI has read it. Returning an attachment path is not the same as reading its content.
After selecting a paper, ask:
Read this paper’s existing child notes and check whether its PDF is available locally. Report which materials you actually obtained. If reading the PDF is a further step, identify the file. Do not invent full-text conclusions from the title or abstract.
Reading child notes does not also read PDF annotations. Annotations, attachment notes, or scanned PDF content may require separate handling. Keep missing material explicit. Zotero’s official attachment guide distinguishes metadata items, attachments, and file storage; synchronization settings do not replace checking the local file.
Matching metadata, notes you read, and subsequently read file content may be provided to the model as part of the task. Private notes and unpublished manuscripts also require appropriate processing permission. See research data and AI.
Ask a specific reading question
To check how a paper defines its variables, ask:
Using the text actually read, extract the main variable definitions, data sources, sample boundaries, and measurement limitations. Give verifiable sections, tables, or page references. If reliable page numbers are unavailable, use sections or text locations; do not invent them. Separate the authors’ statements, my notes, and your interpretation.
Organize the answer around the question, source evidence, and unresolved checks. Return to the original paper for important numbers and definitions. If extracted text misses equations, tables, or footnotes, inspect the original PDF. A fluent explanation cannot supply evidence that was not read.
When comparing papers, specify common questions such as the population, identification conditions, and main findings. Keep unknown fields where the source material is incomplete rather than making every paper appear to answer the same questions.
Generate references and still check their sources
Marx Max can generate BibTeX from selected metadata or format references using locally installed citation styles. Ask:
Generate BibTeX for the three papers we confirmed. Check authors, years, titles, journals, and DOIs. Identify missing fields without guessing, and do not export the entire library.
For a particular format, first check whether the style is installed. Correct formatting does not prove that metadata was entered correctly or that a paper supports a sentence you intend to cite. Check both publication information and the relevant text.
Save confirmed reading as a note
For a Zotero write operation, name the target paper and exact content:
Add the following confirmed reading record as a child note under this paper. Do not change existing notes. Let me check the target and text before executing.
Adding a note requires closing the Zotero instance occupying the target library; Marx Max backs up the library before writing. This adds a child note rather than editing an existing one. If Zotero synchronization is enabled, the new note may sync under its existing settings. A local write is not a promise that the note will never leave the device.
Use the reading for comparisons, writing, or group-meeting slides. Retain the actual sources, confirmed judgments, and unresolved questions so later revisions have evidence to return to.