I've been using a program called "Endnote" for many years, ever since a classmate (Laura E.) told me about it in the summer of 2006. Once you get your references loaded, you can "cite while you write" - putting in end notes, footnotes, or in-text references all according to the style required (e.g., Chicago 16B, APA 6th, etc.) as you write the thought. Then, the program automatically inserts your bibliography at the end...and alphabetizes it for you.
It works with literature search software which is typically found in a library. My school gives me access to it as well as to the full-text articles (if the library has them, of course). Once you select the articles you want to use, you import the citations from the search software to the Endnote program. And viola! you have your citations already loaded to use while you're writing.
My school also gives me access to Endnote-like software, but didn't start doing that until I was well into the PhD program. By then, I got used to Endnote, and really like it (Thompson-Reuters gives a student rate, too). Last night, I upgraded to the latest version - X7 - that is quite the improvement over previous versions. And with my three-monitor set-up (and 24" monitors), the new reference pane is clearly visible. I like it.
My proposal cited 57 references. I've actually got 293 references in my Endnote library so far. I'm sure about 20-30% of those will be 86'd before I'm done, but being old enough to remember the manual literature searches and stack of index cards, I'm quite thankful to be writing this paper in 2014, not 1985.
No comments:
Post a Comment