FARQ: EndNote Answers

When I first started this blog in July 2010, I promised to post at least 2-4 times a week.  Last week, I was so busy I was unable to keep up with this, which is both good and bad.  It's good, because that means I was reaching a lot of people through in-person consultations and research discussions; the bad part was that so many of the discussions and consultations centered around EndNote.

While EndNote is definitely difficult to use sometimes, I noticed a few common questions that I'd like to address right here:

1.  What IS EndNote?  
While you can search online databases via EndNote, EndNote is not, itself, a literature database like PubMed or Web of Science.  EndNote is a tool that lets you build "libraries," or groups of references.  You can add references to your library using three different methods (one of which is the online search), and EndNote should connect with Word so that it will create in-text citations and bibliographic references for you.  If you'd like to explore EndNote without downloading it to your own computer just yet, check out our software list to see exactly which public computers in the library have EndNote installed on them:  http://www.lib.vt.edu/about/campus-software.html.

2.  Why can't I see my Cite While You Write toolbar in Word?
This is by FAR the most frequent question asked over the last few weeks.  When installed, EndNote should automatically install the Cite While You Write tools in Word.  However, if you don't see it as a tab or under the "Tools" menu in Word, then you may be experiencing one of several common problems:

If you have Word 2011 for Mac, the you need to download the EndNote X4.0.2 update, available:  http://www.endnote.com/support/ENX401_Win_updater.asp

If you have Word 2008, then you need to make sure you have the Word SP1 (12.1.X) update, available: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx

If you have tried both of these, and neither seems to work, then follow the steps outlined in this EndNote FAQ:  http://www.endnote.com/support/faqs/CWYW/faq1.asp

3.  I need to create JUST a list of references, but EndNote only adds the bibliography in Word if there's an in-text citation associated with it.  
I created a special tutorial just for this situation.  Watch it for instructions on creating a simple bibliography using EndNote:  http://hnfelibrarian.blogspot.com/2011/07/tutorial-creating-basic-bibliography-in.html

4.  I need help just learning how to use EndNote, in general! 
If you want to take a class in EndNote, schedule a one-on-one tutorial, or just watch some good online tutorials explaining EndNote,  I can help you with all of those.  First of all, University Libraries offers EndNote classes at least once a month.  We always announce these on our website, like here:  http://www.lib.vt.edu/libnews/2011/2011-10-04.html.


Additionally, I am always available for one-on-one consultations; simply send me an email and we'll set something up.

Finally, I can recommend the EndNote tutorials created by the librarians at the UNC Health Sciences Library:  http://www.hsl.unc.edu/Services/Tutorials/ENDNOTE/intro.htm.  While I was in graduate school, I worked at this library, and was first introduced to EndNote by the librarians here.  The tutorials on the link above will help acquaint you with the basic--and some advanced--functions of the software.