EndNote X2 Tutorial
This is a quick overview of the referencing application EndNote X2. You can download a fully functioning copy of the application that will work for 30 days at their website
Creating an Endnote Library
Once you have installed Endnote and open it for the first time, you will see the window above. It is a good idea to start by clicking on “Learn about Endnote,” if you have never used the program before. EndNote has a lot of features and, consequently, a rather large learning curve for the user that wants to know everything the program is capable of. If you just want to begin and learn as you go, you can click on the “Create a new library” link. A library is the name for Endnote’s central data base. You can create as many libraries as you want, one for each project. If you have a number of libraries and decide that a reference you have in one library can also be used in another, it is simply a matter of opening each library and “dragging” the reference from one to the other. Because I have already created a library, I will click on “Open an existing library.”
The Endnote Interface
This is what the Endnote interface looks like once you have created a library and entered some references. You can create, sort and edit refernces from the menu at the top (1). Or, you can use the buttons below the menu (2). The window on the left (3), tells you have many references you have in the library and any groups you might have created. In the main window (4), you can scroll through each reference and sort them based upon author, year, title, journal or reference type. The window at the bottom (5), shows how the reference highlighted (here it is an article by Frana) will appear in the reference file you have chosen. Note that the default style is “annotated.” You will want to go to the narrow window at the left and below the main menu (6) and “select another style.” In our case, choose APA 5th. You can also go to the “edit” menu and “preferences” and change all the font settings from the default (Ariel) to times new roman 12p so that the citations and reference page you create will be in the same font as your thesis.
Working with references
Above is an example of a completed reference in the library. You can simply type the approprate information into the fields or, as I will show later, you can import references from on-line data bases like ERIC. Notice the “Reference Type.” (1). It is important that you choose this accurately, because Endnote formats your reference base upon the type. This example is a conference proceeding. It would be formatted differently if the type were “book” or “journal article.” It is a good idea to include the abstract (2) in the reference. You can also type in your notes or include quotes from the article righ in the reference. If you have a copy of the article in pdf or word, you can link the reference to the document right in Endnote and bring it up whenever you wish. I will show this later in the tutorial.
Using Endnote with Word
Endnote works seamlessly with Word. Once you have installed Endnote, you should have an Endnote menu bar within word itself. You can use “cite while you write” to insert citations from Endnote into your document. At the same time, Endnote will be creating a reference page at the end of your document correctly formatted in APA style.
determine where you want to insert your citation in your document
Determine where you want to insert your citation and put your cursor there. Here, it could be after “important study”and before “was conducted”.
Highlight the citation in Endnote
Go to Endnote and highlight the appropriate citation. In this case, the Newbill and Stubbs study.
Insert the citation in the document
Click on the “insert citation” button on the Endnote menu in word (1) and the citation will appear, properly formatted in the document (2).
The citation will also appear in the reference section at the end of the document
The citation will be added to the reference page alphabetically by author and in correct APA style
Attaching files
If you have a copy of the reference in pdf or word format, you can link the complete document to the reference in Endnote. Just go to the drop down references menu and choose file attachments. That will take you to a window where you can browse and choose the file.
A file attached to a reference
Here is the same reference with the full article attached as a pdf. If you click on the icon, the article can be read.
Importing references from on-line sources
Let’s say I did an EBSCO search (this works for any EBSCO data base as well as any other data base available through the library) for articles on “classroom climate” and decided that I wanted to add the one above. I would first download the article as a pdf file and then click on “add” to add it to my search folder.
Importing references from on-line sources
At the top of the search page, it now reads that my “folder has items”, so I click on the folder button.
Importing references from on-line sources
Next, I select the article or articles I want to add to Endnote (1) and (2) click on “export.”
Importing references from on-line sources
Finally, I choose “Direct Export to Endnote” (1) and (2) click on “save.” You may want to come back to this search, in which case you might want to “uncheck” (3) the “Remove these items” box before saving.
Locate your library
It will ask you to locate your Endnote library. In this case, it is school culture.enl
Imported Citation
Here is the reference as it appears in Endnote. It is ready to be inserted as a citation in my document, properly formatted in APA style.
