There are various software packages that you can use to help compile and manage your references into your own personal database or library. They include templates for many different referencing styles such as MLA and also the preferred styles for many of the leading academic journals. They allow you to import your references directly into your own database from many online sources such as bibliographic databases, electronic journals and library catalogues. They also allow you to work in conjunction with a word processing package to insert in-text citations, your footnotes and bibliography into a document and then automatically format to your preferred style.
The main packages highlighted here are: Endnote, Endnote Web, Mendeley and Zotero. Some packages are free, some you need to pay for. It is worth spending some time to find which one best meets your needs as the styles included won’t be exactly the same as the Exeter styles of referencing, and may therefore need to be amended.
If your discipline requires you to use BibTeX, please use the format generated by that; no further amendments are required.
Microsoft Word also offers a basic referencing function: if you decide to use this, you will need to check that the references it produces match the formats required by the University of Exeter styles described in this guide.
It's worth considering whether using reference management software will be beneficial for the specific assignment you are working on. For assignments where fewer references are required, it may be quicker to create your references manually. Take a look at this page from Study Zone Digital which asks 'Should I be using reference management software'.
EndNote is a software package that enables you to compile and manage your references, and to use them to automatically create in-text citations and bibliographies as you work on your Word documents.
There are a number of different versions of Endnote
You can find out more abut these different versions and compare functionality from the Endnote Online Training & Support site.
EndNote desktop includes thousands of referencing styles, including all the major referencing systems such as Harvard and MLA, and the preferred styles for the leading academic journals. It is therefore very easy to create citations and bibliographies in the correct style for your purposes. EndNote desktop is installed on the public cluster PCs across our campuses. It is covered by the University’s EndNote Site Licence, which allows installation of the software on any University-owned PC at no further charge per copy.
Easy to follow instructions are available to help you set up an Endnote Desktop, Premium or Basic online account.
Comprehensive online help and training is available from Endnote, including videos, getting started guides, comprehensive user guides and more.
You can also use the online training calendar to book on to forthcoming courses or contact which are offered online by Endnote training experts. For technical support, please contact Exeter IT.
1)Download the Endnote Click plug-in
Endnote Click is a browser plug-in that you can download to help you access full text articles and store PDFs in your Endnote Library. It will also make it easier to see what articles you can access in full-text when searching on PubMed and Web of Science.
Use the getting started in two minutes guide for more information.
2) Try searching for full-text PDFs while on campus
EndNote can attempt to locate full text files from these sources on the Web (works best on campus). If found, EndNote downloads and attaches the files to the references.
This will save you some time but be aware that it will find some but not all full text that you are entitled to. You should use the Library Search service to check whether you have access to a particular book or journal titles, if Endnote is unable to retrieve full text for you.
If you are on campus, you can then select references and choose the Find Full Text option. Either select records and then right click and choose Find Full Text, or highlight records and choose References > Find Full Text > Find Full Text
3) Try searching for PDFs off campus using VPN
For this function to work effectively off campus, you need to use VPN. If you are a registered user of the University IT facilities, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection will allow you to access the University network from home or from any other location with an internet connection.
Follow the online guidance in order to set up VPN access.
You must ensure you connect via VPN before asking Endnote to Find Full text.
Existing referencing styles in Endnote may not always be exactly the same as the versions of those styles used at the University of Exeter. However, you can edit styles in Endnote to more closely match your requirements.
Remember: always manually proofread references produced by referencing management software yourself to ensure that they are accurate.
Adding a DOI to a Vancouver reference:
1. In your Endnote Library, go to "Tools", and choose "Output Styles" -> "Edit Vancouver".
2. On the left-hand side of the page, click on "Templates" underneath "Bibliography".
3. Scroll down to the "Journal Article" field, and add the following after the full stop: ` https://doi.org/`DOI|.
Note: DOI| adds the doi to your reference.
Use ` https://doi.org/` to add this as a preface to the doi if it is not already present - this will render it an actionable link.
Mendeley - is both a free reference manager and an academic social network designed to help researchers find and work with collaborators. There is a Mendeley Quick Start Guide available.
Mendeley is free to use, but you will need to set up a personal account.
You can create an account and sign-in using your University email address and password for easy access to Mendeley.
You then have the choice of either accessing Mendeley through the desktop version, which can download using the link in the quick start guide above, or you can create an account and use the web version which does not require that you download any software.
It is possible to install a Mendeley plug-in in Word 365 to streamline your referencing. Watch the video below for instructions on how to install and use the plug-in.
If you have any difficulty installing or using the plug-in, you can instead use the Mendeley Web version and the built-in citation tool within Word - please see the instructions below for further details.
1. Export your references from your Mendeley Web Library:
Open your Mendeley Web Library.
Select the references you want to export.
From the options at the bottom of the screen, select Export and then Microsoft Word (*.xml).
2. Import your references into the Microsoft Word Citation Manager:
Go to “References” and in the 'Citations and Bibliography' section, click on Manage Sources.
Click on Browse, navigate to the file you just downloaded and click on OK.
Your references will appear in the left hand pane. Select the reference(s) you wish to use and click on Copy, so they appear in the right hand pane.
Click on Close.
3. Insert references into your document:
In the 'Citations and Bibliography' section, click on Insert Citation.
Select your reference from the list.
References produced by Mendeley may not always be accurate, and you may sometimes need to edit them to ensure that they are correct and align with University of Exeter style guidelines as detailed in Cite Them Right. In Mendeley, there are a few ways to do this:
Zotero is a free, open-source research tool that helps you collect, organize, and analyze research and share it in a variety of ways. Zotero includes the best parts of older reference manager software — the ability to store author, title, and publication fields and to export that information as formatted references — and the best aspects of modern software and web applications, such as the ability to organize, tag, and search in advanced ways. Zotero interacts seamlessly with online resources: when it senses you are viewing a book, article, or other object on the web, it can automatically extract and save complete bibliographic references. Zotero effortlessly transmits information to and from other web services and applications, and it runs both as a web service and offline on your personal devices.
Comprehensive online support is available - via Zotero Support.
