Producing a Thesis with EndNote
EndNote can save weeks of time over the course of a research degree and result in a more accurate Reference List and citations.Library
It is best to have all references in a single EndNote library. This makes it easy to search and sort items and to backup. If you feel that you really need separate libraries for different purposes consider using higher level keywords to separate broad groups (eg. "teaching resources", "PhD research"). If you are downloading many items from databases into EndNote there is an argument for having additional libraries. A good strategy is to have a base library which only contains items which have been sighted (hopefully read). Items can be copied and pasted from one library to another, for example from a "downloads" library to the base library once their usefulness has been established.Chapter Documents
Start with individual files for chapters. As you add citations with EndNote, a Reference List will be compiled at the end of the file. This is useful when providing chapters to your supervisors to read. They will be able to assess your references as you go. You will be able to spot errors in the Reference List as you write your thesis, rather than having one big job at the end. If you see an error in the Reference List, remember to go back to the EndNote library to correct it. You may need to do a Manual format of the Chapter document to get it to update.Collating the Whole Thesis
The following steps should be followed when you are ready to collate the whole thesis. A word document of these instructions can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.- Backup the EndNote library (and data folder).
- Backup all thesis chapters.
- In MSWord, disable EndNote instant formatting (click on the Format Bibliography icon and then the Instant Formatting Tab, then click the button until it shows "Enable")
- Highlight and delete the individual chapter Reference Lists and save each chapter as a new name.
- Open chapter 1 and then append the following chapters to the bottom of the file. On completion save the collated Thesis document with a new name.
- Perform a manual format on the whole thesis document and the entire Reference List should appear at the end (click on the Format Bibliography icon, check the style setting is correct and then click "OK". Formatting the whole thesis may take a few minutes. Save on completion.
- You can move the finished Reference List to a new location (eg. after appendices) once it is created by highlighting, cutting and pasting.
- It is a good idea to leave instant formatting off while you are tinkering with the final thesis.
- Note that with the instant formatting turned off, if you make any changes to the in-text citations you will need to manually format as above to update the Reference List.
- If you see errors in the finished Reference List, remember that they should be fixed in the EndNote library and then a manual format performed. If you alter the Reference List directly it may not update in the future.
- Save and keep backups of the thesis and EndNote library. The evidence suggests most students will have to carry out minor revisions which will require accessing the Reference List.
Australasian Digital Thesis Submission
If you are submitting your thesis to ADT (or to an electronic journal) you will need to remove the EndNote citations in the final version. When the document is ready click on the Remove Field Codes icon in EndNote. You will be prompted to save the document in a different version because the EndNote formatting cannot be reinstated after this step. More information is available about Preparation and Submission of Digital Theses.Resources: |
|
| Compiling a Thesis Reference List - [.doc | 28 kb] |
|
| EndNote X3 Demonstration (pdf) A beginners guide for ECU users of EndNote X3 EndNote X3 New features (pdf) |
|
| EndNotevX1Notes - [.pdf | 2.3 mb] A beginners guide for ECU users of EndNotevX1 |
|
