Effectiveness of an interactive Zotero training session on knowledge and practice of reference management among nursing students in selected institutions of Kamrup, Assam: a quasi-experimental study

Background: Reference management software such as Zotero improves accuracy and efficiency of citation, yet many nursing students do not fully adopt such tools due to limited exposure and training. Objectives were to assess knowledge and practice regarding the compiling reference tool Zotero (CRTz), evaluate an interactive training session’s effectiveness, and determine associations of post-test scores with demographic variables among nursing students. Methods: A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design was used. Two-hundred final-year nursing students (100 experimental, 100 control) from two institutions in Kamrup, Assam were enrolled by total enumerative sampling. The experimental group received a 30-minute interactive Zotero session; the control group received no intervention. A 15-item knowledge questionnaire and 20-item practice checklist were administered pre- and post-intervention and analysed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test and chi-square test (p<0.05). Results: At pre-test, most students showed poor-to-moderate knowledge and average practice in both groups. The experimental group showed a significant rise in mean knowledge (5.34±2.31 to 8.97±2.32; t=16.71, p<0.001) and practice (13.53±4.41 to 17.01±2.63; t=11.1, p<0.001), while the control group showed no significant change (p>0.05). Post-test knowledge was significantly associated with age, religion and residence (experimental group) and gender (control group); post-test practice was significantly associated with prior tool knowledge (experimental group) and course type (control group). Conclusions: A brief interactive session substantially improves nursing students' knowledge and practice regarding Zotero, supporting integration of structured, hands-on reference-management training into nursing curricula.