Research Resources: EndNote - Now it’s online and free

By: Betty Glass

April 4th, 2007

EndNote is a reference manager that some faculty and students may already have purchased in CD format for their personal computers to create and format bibliographies or reference lists for term papers or manuscripts being submitted for publication. EndNote Web is the new Web-based version that became available around February 2007.

** EndNote Web is included with the University Libraries’ subscription to the ISI Citation databases, so it is “free” for the University of Nevada, Reno community and available online anywhere via your Net ID. **

EndNote Web does much more than take the pain out of answering questions like:

I’m preparing a formal report about my grant-funded project. What data elements about the grant should I include for its bibliographic entry?

The editors of “Environmental Ethics” are interested in my article idea. What formatting style do I need to use when preparing the manuscript for peer review?

I’ve been creating bibliographies with books for years, but how on earth do you format a reference for a math equation (or artwork) (or a patent) in a bibliography?

Besides formatting reference entries according to the most recent editions of the APA, Chicago, and MLA style manuals, EndNote Web offers over 1,000 other formatting styles, including those specified by many peer-reviewed journals in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.

The “Your Favorite Bibliography Output Styles” feature allows you to maintain a customized list of the style guides most relevant to your research.

Also like its CD predecessor, EndNote Web can import reference information from online databases such as ERIC, INSPEC, MEDLINE, and MLA International Bibliography.

“Import Filter” is the term EndNote Web uses for the databases libraries provide to faculty and students for research. Over 300 databases (import filters) are listed on EndNote Web’s “Import Filter” drop menu, but not all of them are provided by University Libraries.

If your research needs are generally met by a few of our databases, you can “Copy” them to the “Your Favorite Import Filters” area, creating a short-cut to your own customized list.

In some cases, more than one company offers subscriptions to the same database, so some databases appear more than once on the drop menu. For the “Import” function to work, you need to know which company the University uses. This is usually obvious from each database’s homepage. We subscribe to “AgeLine” from CSA, for example, so you would select that version from the drop menu of Import Filters.

Also, companies may offer different versions of a database. For example, the University has Academic Search Premier from EBSCO, which is listed as “Acad Search Prem (EBSCO).”

If in doubt as to which version of a database (import filter) to select, don’t hesitate to contact a reference librarian:

Sometimes the Import Filter drop menu isn’t as user-friendly as you might wish. A case in point: we have several excellent full-text diversity databases from ProQuest:

• Alt-Press Watch
• Ethnic NewsWatch
• GenderWatch

However, none of them are listed on the “Import Filters” drop menu. To import an article citation from one of these databases, you must select “ProQuest” from the Import Filter drop menu. It acts as a generic filter to include these and other ProQuest databases for the Import citation function.

You should definitely “copy” the “RefMan RIS” import filter as one of your favorites. This is a generic filter that imports citations from databases that do not have a filter.

The “Cite While You Write” feature enables you to automatically position and format references and format your bibliography while writing the rough draft of a research paper in Word.

Word users must install the free “Cite While You Write” Plug-in, which installs a small toolbar for Internet Explorer. Use of the toolbar is optional, but it provides a convenient link to the EndNote Web login screen each time you open Word.

EndNote Web is compatible with Unicode, so it correctly displays characters for all languages, alphabets and most computer systems. Once a bibliography has been created, it can be saved as an HTML, rich text, or plain text file.

It can be distributed to others via email, and it can be printed as a Word document. Moreover, you may share a folder of references with colleagues on a collaborative research project, even if members of your team are at different campuses. They just need email addresses and an EndNote Web account. This feature is also convenient for classroom group assignments.

First time users will need to register before they can use EndNote Web. To register, click here.

** CAUTION **

EndNote’s FAQs and “View Tutorials” user support features are not visible after you click “Remember me on this computer.” So, it is a good idea to ignore this option until you have taken a look at the FAQs and Tutorials, taking advantage of the detailed information available concerning EndNote’s various features.

EndNote Web’s FAQs are available online, but you’ll need to know the URL after you’ve clicked “Remember me on this computer.”

EndNote Web’s basic tutorials may be downloaded in Windows Media Player or Mac format for off-line viewing from this site.

The HELP Index links to four categories of topics:

• the types of reference resources EndNote Web can format for a bibliography (i.e.: films, maps, statutes)
• trouble-shooting topics for correcting errors in bibliographic entries
• free software plug-ins for Word, Macintosh and Internet Explorer that make EndNote Web more efficient
• terminology for basic functions and options (i.e.: creating new folders, deleting references)

“Roaming” refers to the privilege of using EndNote Web away from the University campus. Everyone with a University Net ID can do this by jumping through a few hoops:

• Register with EndNote Web
• login to EndNote Web from an IP authenticated workstation on campus to confirm you are a valid user
• Your “Roaming access” is now validated for one year
• The IP authentication process must be done annually

By the way, results from Google Scholar can also be exported into EndNote for use in research papers. (To learn more about Google Scholar, click here.)

EndNote procedures for Google Scholar:

• go to Google Scholar
• click on the “Scholarly Preferences” link to the right of the “Search” box/ button.
• scroll to the bottom of the “Scholarly Preferences” page
• in the “Bibliography Manager” section, click the radio button next to “Show links to import citations into”
• choose EndNote from the drop menu
• click the “Save Preferences” button at the bottom right corner of the page.

The results from your next Google Scholar search will have links that say “Import into EndNote.” Click on a link to open a file preformatted to be used with EndNote. (This tip is from Ben Bunnell, Library Partnerships Manager, who shared it at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Seattle in January 2007 and via the Google Librarian Newsletter.)

The following is only for those who have been using the EndNote CDs:

If you’ve used EndNote in the past and already have existing EndNote libraries on your desktops, the only way you will be able to move them into EndNote Web is by first updating to EndNote version X.

Why move to EndNote Web if you already have a CD version? To take advantage of the “share” feature of EndNote Web. Co-authors can share references in an EndNote Web folder while working on a jointly authored paper, no matter where the authors work, as long as each author has an EndNote Web account.

Moreover, faculty can create “read only” folders of references for their classes to share with their students. Students in study groups or working on group assignments can also benefit from the “Share” feature.

The ASUN Bookstore in Jot Travis Student Union provides academic discount pricing for faculty, university employees, and students who need to upgrade to EndNote X. The academic version is the Full-version software. A benefit of purchasing software from our campus bookstore is that it is tax exempt.

As you can see, EndNote Web requires a little time to become familiar with its features, but that initial investment pays off by freeing you and your students from buying new print editions of the standard style manuals and then from having to consult print and online style manuals to figure out how to format a certain type of research resource for a bibliography. The “Share” feature also streamlines communication between colleagues separated by time zones or more mundane scheduling conflicts on the same campus.

If you haven’t already, give EndNote Web a test drive soon. It might even bring a smile to the faces of first year students confronted with their first research assignment.

To read more Research Resources columns, visit the Our Workplace Archives.

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