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EndNote

Guidance on using EndNote software at the University of Adelaide

There are many ways to build your EndNote library.  One way is to enter your individual references manually. You may also need to correct or complete the data in references which have been imported.

To add a reference manually:

  1. From the References menu, click New (CTRL-N) or  on the toolbar.
  2. Choose Reference Type, e.g. Book or Journal Article
  3. Enter the author's name, e.g. Beezhold, B. L. then press Enter.
  4. Enter subsequent authors on a separate line.

  1. Move to subsequent fields by pressing the Tab key.
  2. Continue until all information has been entered.
  3. Click Close Reference under File, or CTRL–W or click on the X in the right-hand corner of the New Reference window.
  4. Click New (CTRL-N) to begin entering the next reference. Don’t forget to select the appropriate Reference Type for each new reference.


Authors

It is best to input the author’s name with the Last Name first, followed by a comma, then all other names in full. EndNote can generate initials in your bibliography if required.

If there is more than one author, enter each name on a new line.

When entering corporate authors, put a comma after the name: e.g. Amnesty International,

If an organisation has a comma in its name, place another comma next to the first one and don’t put a comma after the name: e.g. Department of Transport,, Planning and Local Infrastructure

N.B. It is important that you are consistent with entering the author's name if there is more than one reference by the same author (which is why entering full first names is preferable). Inconsistency in entering author’s names can cause unwanted initials in in-text references in your document.

Punctuation and capitalization

Do not include special bibliographic formatting or punctuation except for commas or colons within a field. EndNote can adjust capitalization in titles of books and articles, but generally you should type your data as you want it produced in your bibliography.

Reference size

The Notes, Research notes and Abstract fields can each hold approximately 16 pages of text. Use the Notes field to store your personal notes about a text, or any quotations that you intend using.

Editing references

If you need to change any details in a reference or add text to a field (such as the Notes field), double-click on the reference to open it and position your cursor in the appropriate field. You can view your reference alongside the PDF to make changes based on information in the PDF.
You can also use ‘Quick Edit’ from the tab pane at the bottom of the library window – take care to move your cursor out of the reference to save changes.

Hints and tips

The Sample Library

There is a sample library in the EndNote Examples folder within the EN program folder on Windows or within the EN application folder in Applications on a Mac - you can use this to see how references should be entered in an EN library.

Referencing Guides Examples

The Writing Centre at the University of Adelaide has produced Referencing Guides to some of the common styles used at this University. You can see examples of how these references should be entered into an EndNote library to produce the required bibliography in that style. Refer to Styles in this guide.