Using EndNote at Western Washington University

Endnote software is useful for managing lists of references and bibliographies. EndNote software has three primary uses:

• Creating bibliographies in MLA, APA, Chicago, and many other styles
• Importing database records from journal indexes
• Searching journal databases and library catalogs

Importing Database Records

The procedure for importing records is basically the same for all databases, but there are small differences. Some databases have an option for EndNote output. To save database records in an EndNote file, there are three basic steps:

1. Search a database and select records.
2. Save records from a database into a text file
3. Import the text file using an EndNote connection file

EndNote uses Import Filters to bring database records into an EndNote library file. Here are directions for some of the library databases:

• ERIC
• MLA Bibliography
• ProQuest
• Western Libraries Catalog
• Web of Science

Check this List of Databases to find out about more databases. Contact Peter Smith, Western Libraries, 650-3175, about additional databases.

Searching Databases

1. Select a connection file
2. Connect to the database
3. Copy search results to and EndNote library file

When using EndNote for searching, database records are copied and pasted into an EndNote library, without the intermediate text file.

The EndNote search software is not as clever as the search software designed for a database. For example, the "Advanced Search" option in most of the library databases offers more search features.

The EndNote connection files do not match many of the Western Libraries databases. Here is a list from EndNote 6.0 of connection files for Western Libraries databases.

• ArticleFirst (OCLC)
• ATLA Religion (OCLC)
• CINAHL (OCLC)
• ERIC (CSA)
• MLA Bibliography (OCLC)
• Web of Science (ISI)
• WorldCat (OCLC)