Importing and copying references
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- import and copy references into EndNote.
Importing downloaded references with a filter
A filter is a piece of software that will take a set of references which have been downloaded from a database and convert them to a format compatible with your EndNote library.
The file of references must be in plain text (*.txt) and must be split up into labelled fields, something like this:
AU: Smith, J.
TI: New developments in instructional software
SO: Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 3 (2001): 305-318
A filter is specific to a particular database (eg Medline, PsycInfo). When the database is marketed by more than one company, separate filters will be required for each vendor's platform (eg Medline from Ovid, Medline from SilverPlatter, Medline from CSA).
EndNote X1 comes with over 600 filters. Additional filters can be found at the University Library EndNote filters page.
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ActivitySometimes you will need to download a filter for a specialised database that isn't among the standard filters that comes with EndNote. For practice, let's download the filter for REEF, a bibliographic database that indexes articles about the Great Barrier Reef. Browse through the list of filters on the UNE EndNote filters page until you find the filter for the database REEF on the Informit platform.
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and choose Save Target As to begin the download of the relevant
filter.
Importing references from a database
The procedures relating to the importing a file vary from database to database. In an earlier eSKILLS Plus module, the steps involved were explained for the CSA Illumina and Informit databases.
Below is link to a dummy set of results which you can use to practice. These results are from the database PsycINFO on the CSA Illumina platform.
To download the contents of these files into your EndNote library, follow these steps:
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Right-click on this link and then choose Save Target As to download the file to your desktop (if you decide to download the file anywhere else, don't forget where you put it).
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Return to EndNote, and make sure that your library is open.
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Click on the Import Button icon
on the main toolbar. You should see a dialogue box that looks like Figure
7.
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Figure 7: Import Dialogue Box
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Now click on the Choose File button. This will open a standard Open File dialogue box.
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Find the file that you downloaded earlier (this task is easiest if you downloaded the file to your desktop).
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Click on the file name.
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Click on the Open button. This will return you to the previous dialogue box.
- In the box labelled Import Option, click on the down arrow to see the standard import options. Then click on Other Filters to open the list of filters (Figure 8).
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Figure 8: Filters List
Browse down the list of databases until you find the appropriate filter for the file you have downloaded. In this case, you will need PsycINFO (CSA).
Click once on the filter name.
Click on the Choose button. This will return you to the previous dialogue box.
Check that, in the Text Translation box, the default option Unicode (UTF-8) is visible. The dialogue box should now look something like Figure 9:
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Figure 9: Import Dialogue Box
- Click on the Import button.
After filtering, only the references which you have just imported will be visible in the library window. To see all the references in the EndNote library, choose Show All References command from the References menu.
Once you have chosen a filter, it becomes a "favourite" and will be be available from the pull-down menu in Figure 9. You will not need to search the Filter folder for the filter.
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Checking your data After you have imported a new set of data from an external database, spend a few moments checking that your data is "clean". Look for consistency in author and title names, capitalization and for missing data before integrating your data with the rest of your library. See Garbage in, Garbage Out in the previous module. |
Importing using connection files
A connection file is a piece of software that allows you to search a database over the Web, without leaving EndNote. You can then select references from the database and import them directly into your EndNote library.
This practice is not recommended. The reasons are:
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External searches using connection files usually lead to poorer quality results than a search carried out in the database's native interface
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Firewalls will often interfere with the use of connection files
- You are unable to use connection files to databases from the UNE campus.
Importing using direct export from a database
Some databases allow you to select records and then send them directly to your EndNote library. This is called "direct export".
With databases such as Web of Science, this feature works very well. With others, you will find that the records do not import accurately. In such cases, you may find it better to download the records separately and use a filter to import them.
To import references from Web of Science, follow these steps:
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Go to Web of Science
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Enter a keyword in the Search box and click on the Search button.
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Click in the check boxes next to individual references and then click on ADD TO MARKED LIST button.
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Click on the Marked List tab at the top of the screen.
Click on EXPORT TO REFERENCE SOFTWARE from the column on the right.
Select the fields you wish to include if you want more than the default fields. You might, for example, wish to include abstract or keywords in your download.
Web of Science will open your copy of EndNote and prompt you to select the required EndNote library using the standard Windows or Macintosh Open dialogue box.
Double click the EndNote library you require. Web of Science then exports the references to your library.
Don't forget to check your references before integrating them with the rest of your EndNote library.
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Figure 10: Web of Science Output Options
Copying references between EndNote libraries
If you have more than one library, moving references from one library to another is easy.
To practice, you need to keep your existing library open and open another library called Paleo (a large library containing references on palaeontology), which is supplied with EndNote.
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This library should be found in the EndNote folder created when you installed the software on your machine. The default location on a Windows computer is: C:Program Files\EndNote X1\Examples\Paleo.enl.
Click on the Open Library button on the EndNote toolbar. This will bring up a dialogue box where you can select the Paleo library (Figure 11).
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Figure 11: The Select a Reference Library Dialogue Box
Highlight the Paleo file and click on the Open button to open the Paleo library.
You now have two libraries open. The easiest way to copy references is to tile the libraries, so that they appear side by side. To do this, choose the Tile command from the Window menu. Your screen should look like Figure 12.
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Figure 12: Two Libraries in Tile Format
To copy a reference from the Paleo library into your library, click the reference to highlight it. Then click on the reference again and drag and drop it into your library.
You can select a group of references and drag and drop them in the same way. To select a group of adjacent references, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard while selecting the files. Hold down the Ctrl key to select non-adjacent references.
You can close a library by clicking on the Close button in the top of the library window.
You are now ready to proceed to the next part of the module: Searching and sorting your EndNote library.