Guide to the Endnote Citation Tool

Endnote is a citation tool that comes in three forms. There is endnote online, endnote desktop, and Web of Science integration. Each option has different features with the online version being considered basic.

Endnote Online is your run-of-the-mill citation tool whose functionality is elevated when used in tandem with endnote desktop. Endnote Desktop is a plugin that comes with more features. So it manages the references as well as helps you insert citations within your document then creates a bibliography for you at the end.

To start…

Visit my.endnote.com and sign up for a free account. This will lead you to a user interface that has numerous options like ‘collect’, ‘organize’ etc.

Next, you want to install the plugins. Using Endnote online only is a waste of resources. You do not get to enjoy the full functionality of the citation tool at the basic level.

To install plugins…

Go to the ‘options’ tab and select ‘download installers’. From this, you get two plugins. The first is a tool that will help you capture references and import them into the library. The second is the citation tool that will enter citations into your Word document as well as create the bibliography.

Adding Sources to the Endnote Citation Tool

Sources can be added to the Endnote library by exporting directly from the sources, capturing metadata, searching, importing files like RIS and manually entering bibliographical information.

The exporting option is only available for sources that have an option of saving to Endnote.

1. Open your endnote desktop library
2. Go to the database you would like to use and search for your topic
3. Choose your sources
4. Use the export function on the database to export to the library

Capturing metadata…

1. In your endnote online user page, find the downloads tab
2. Drag and drop the ‘capture reference’ button to the browser toolbar
3. To capture metadata, simply click on the button and make any necessary edits
4. Click ‘save to’ to add to the library

Using online search…

1. Start by clicking on the collect tab then click on ‘online search
2. Select a database of your choice
3. Mark whichever ones you like and add them to the library

To add references manually…

Click on ‘collect’ then on ‘new reference’. From there follow the prompts to add bibliographical information.

To import text files…

Click on ‘collect’ and then on ‘import references’. Select the file to upload then enter the import option. You may add the tag under which to save the file then click on ‘import’.

To cite from Endnote

1. Click on the endnote button on the Word document toolbar then on ‘insert citation’
2. Enter a keyword to search for the citation like the author’s name or title
3. Proceed to click on ‘find’ then select the appropriate reference then click on ‘insert’. If you need to enter multiple citations, simply hold down the ctrl button while you select from your list of sources.
4. To specify the referencing style, click on ‘style’ and then choose a style from the drop-down list.
5. If you would like to edit the citation both within the text and in the reference list, you click on ‘edit & manage citations’ and then enter the correction in the fields provided. Also, there are numerous other options like excluding author names and only displaying certain changes in the bibliography.

Reference Management with EndNote Citation Tool

To save your sources…

Sharing your library is an important feature of any citation tool. After all, it makes the difference between having to manually compare sources used for individual contributions to collaborative papers and simply knowing from the offset while writing. Obviously, backing up your library and ensuring that both the online and the desktop endnotes are synced are critical in ensuring that sharing your sources is seamless.

To share sources…

1. Click on the File menu then select Share. If necessary log in with your EndNote Online credentials.
2. Enter the email addresses of the people with whom you would like to share your library. Then, select whether to give them Read & Write access or Read Only access. Click Invite.
3. Those you have invited to share your library will receive an email invitation and will need to log in to their own EndNote Online accounts to begin sharing. Once invites have been sent, you can monitor their acceptance by revisiting the share settings under the File menu and Share.
4. You can remove invites or send email reminders for invites from this screen by clicking on the cog for the relevant person.

To access shared sources…

1. You should receive an email inviting you to access the shared library.
2. You will be taken to a website and asked to sign in with your EndNote account credentials.
3. Sync your library, if necessary.
4. Open the shared library in EndNote Desktop by going to the File menu and selecting Open shared library. That user can then select which shared EndNote library they want to open.