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Research Guides

EndNote User's Guide: X8 (Desktop)

A guide to using EndNote to manage references and help you create citations and bibliographies in your papers.

Further Help

For more detailed guidance on using EndNote (including its advanced features), see EndNote's video tutorials on YouTube.

If you have questions on how to use EndNote, contact Melinda Malik.

For technical questions about installation or system requirements, contact the IT Help Desk.

Getting Started

The first step is to create an EndNote library, which is a collection of citations to books, articles, and other research materials.

To create a library, open EndNote and choose New in the File menu, and save the new library file to your computer. Do not save your library to cloud storage such as OneDrive or to a networked drive.

The next thing you should do is select the desired citation style.

  1. Click the drop-down box at the top left of the library
  2. In the drop-down menu, choose Select Another Style
  3. Select the desired style from the list and press Choose.

Now it is time to start adding citations. See the tab on Exporting Citations for details on specific databases. In general, there are three principal ways to add references to your library, which are explained below.

  1. Direct export
  2. Import using EndNote filters
  3. Manual entry

Example of an EndNote Library

Direct Export

Most databases, such as JSTOR, the EBSCO databases (e.g., AcademicSearch Premier and PsycINFO), and the ProQuest databases (e.g. ProQuest Central and ABI-INFORM), allow you to directly export references into EndNote. Generally, direct export involves the following steps. Be sure to have EndNote open prior to exporting references.

  • Run your search in the database
  • Mark the desired items in your Results list
  • Access the folder or page containing the saved/marked items
  • Export these items to EndNote

You may see a pop-up window that will require you to select Open or OK to initiate the export. The references will automatically appear in the open EndNote library.

See the next tab for examples.

Import Using EndNote Features

A few databases require you to save references to a text file and then import them into EndNote using filters. The filter parses the citation information into the appropriate EndNote fields. This process generally involves the following steps:

  • Run your search in the database
  • Mark the desired items in your Results list
  • Access the folder or page containing the saved/marked items
  • Save or export these items to a text file, saving it to your computer
  • Use the "Import" command under EndNote's File menu to import the references into your library
  • When prompted for an Import Option, select "Other Filters", find the desired filter in the full list of available filters, and press the Choose button
  • Press the Import button. The references will appear in the open EndNote library

Manual Entry

This method may be necessary for specialized sources like letters, archival materials, personal interviews, and television shows whose citations won't appear in a research database.

  • Select "New Reference" under the References menu
  • Choose a Reference Type corresponding to the type of material represented by the citation
  • Enter the citation information for your item into the fields needed to create a complete citation in the desired format.  For items with multiple authors, enter their names on separate lines under the Author heading
  • Close the New Reference window to automatically save the new citation to the active library

This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to transfer citations from the most commonly-used research databases at Saint Anselm College to your EndNote library (PC version). If you need help with another database contact a librarian.

Be sure to have an EndNote library open when you attempt to transfer a citation. For many databases, this will allow the citations to be directly exported into your library.

Please NOTE: Citation information does not always transfer correctly (for example, name suffixes like "Jr." and foreign language characters). You may need to clean up the citations in EndNote before generating bibliographies. Double-click on a citation in the EndNote library to edit the citation's info.

In JSTOR:

Click the Cite this Item button and click Export to a RIS file in the pop-up box.  A new window will open. Save the file to your computer. The citation will then automatically be uploaded into your EndNote library.

In ProQuest

Click on the Save button and select RIS from the drop-down menu. A pop-up window will open. Select RIS under the Output drop-down menu and click Continue. Another window will open to allow you to save the file to your computer. The file will then be automatically uploaded to your EndNote library.

In EBSCO databases

Such as Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, MLA International Bibliography, PsycINFO, and SocINDEX.
Click Export. An Export Manager box will open at the top of the page. Select the radio button for Direct Export to RIS Format, then click Save.

In ProQuest Ebook Central:

Select the your book of interest. Click on Cite Book. In the pop-up window, chose your preferred citation style and click EndNote/Citavi under Export Citation.

In GVRL -  Gale Virtual Reference Library

Open your article of interest to export. In the right-side Tools menu, select Citation Tools. In the pop-up box pick MLA or APA and click the EndNote button. This will open up a box to save the .RIS file to your library. Click Save and the file will be uploaded to your EndNote library.

In WorldCat FirstSearch:

After conducting a search, click on the title of the item you'd like to save in EndNote. Then click the Export button in the top menu. In the pop-up window select EndNote and press the Export button. When prompted save the EndNote file extension .ENW to your computer. Double-click on the saved file to open it. The file will open in EndNote where you will be prompted to choose an Import Filter. Select WorldCat (OCLC) and press the Choose button. The citations will then be added to your EndNote library.

In Library Catalog (books and DVDs in Geisel Library's collection):

Once you have identified one or more titles, select the Mark this Item button for each title. Then click the View & Send Marked Items button. Select the radio button for EndNote/RefWorks

Cite While You Write is an add-on that is automatically installed in Microsoft Word when you install EndNote.

If you use EndNote Web, you can download a Cite While You Write plug-in for Word by clicking on Download Installers in EndNote Web.

This add-on or plug-in helps you add citations in the style of your choosing as you compose a paper. This includes footnotes, in-text citations, and entries in your bibliography or works cited list.

For styles that involve in-text citations 

(e.g. MLA and APA) Do the following:

  • As you type your paper in Word, when you wish to insert a citation to an EndNote reference, click on the EndNote tab and select "Insert Citation / Find Citation"
  • In the Find box, enter a search term (such as the author's last name or a word from the title) that will locate the reference you wish to cite, and press the Search button
  • Select the desired reference and press the Insert button
  • Make sure that the correct citation style is selected in the Style drop-down box in the EndNote tab
  • If you need to cite a specific page number, put your cursor on the in-text citation and press "Edit & Manage Citation(s)" in the EndNote tab in Word.  Enter the page number in the Pages box and press OK

For styles that involve footnotes

(e.g. Chicago and Turabian) Do the following:

  • As you type your paper in Word, when you wish to insert a footnote to an EndNote reference, click the References tab and press "Insert Footnote" (as you normally do in Word)
  • With your cursor in the footnote at the bottom of the page, click on the EndNote tab and select "Insert Citation / Find Citation"
  • In the Find box, enter a search term (such as the author's last name or a word from the title) that will locate the reference you wish to cite, and press the Search button
  • Select the desired reference and press the Insert button
  • Make sure that the correct citation style is selected in the Style drop-down box in the EndNote tab
  • If you need to cite a specific page number, put your cursor on the footnote and press "Edit & Manage Citation(s)" in the EndNote tab in Word.  Enter the page number in the Pages box and press OK.
  • Note that if the reference has previously been cited in your document, the footnote will use the "short form" of the citation. If the reference was also the previous item cited, the footnote will use "Ibid" as appropriate.