Skip to Main Content
library logo banner

EndNote Desktop: Collect / Create References

Collecting references from databases

  • This section explains how to select and export references from the Library Catalogue, Google Scholar and various library databases into EndNote. You need to export references before you can import them into your Word document. For instructions, open the relevant tab(s) above.
  • To edit a reference, open the Edit Citations and References tab in the Cite While You Write section of this guide.
  • To manually create a reference yourself, refer to the section below.
  • To import pdfs from a folder, refer to the section below.
  • To use connection files to connect to PubMed or other UK libraries, refer to the section below.

Collecting references from the Library catalogue
 

1. Open EndNote and open your EndNote library.
2. Enter the Library Catalogue. Click sign in (in the top right-hand corner). Enter your University username and password.
3. Search for references to books, articles or other items.


Sending individual references to EndNote:

4. Open the record on an item and select Export RIS then Download and the citation will be sent to your EndNote library.Library catalogue download window.

Sending a group of references to EndNote Online:

5. Click the pin button within each search result that you wish to save. 

6. Next to where you signed in, select the Pin button to view your selected references.

7. Reselect (by ticking boxes) those results that you want to send to EndNote.

8. Select the 3 dots then Export RIS to send the results to EndNote.

Collecting references from Google Scholar

Google Scholar home page.

Google Scholar bibliography manager.

Search result from Google Scholar.

  1. Connect to Google Scholar (GS). If you are off-campus, it's best to connect via the Library Catalogue - this will enable you to increase the number of full-text papers that you are able to access via GS. 
  2. To import references from Google Scholar you must change the Scholar Settings. 
  3. Click Settings. Settings icon.
  4. Go to Bibliography manager. 
  5. Using the drop-arrow change Show links to import citations into EndNote. 
  6. Click Save.
  7. The Import into EndNote link then appears under each reference. 
  8. Click this link to download the reference.

Collecting references from APA PsycNET

PsycARTICLES can only be searched from within PsycINFO by selecting Databases and then selecting PsycArticles, as shown below.

Note that there are known issues relating to how you search in PsycNET. Please contact your Subject Librarian for advice.APA PsycNet home page.

  1. Select/click the box next to each search result that you want to export.

  2. Click the arrow icon (Export) located above the search results. This opens up a menu of options: from these, select Export to EndNote desktop and click Go.

  3. Select Open file in the browser or open from your Downloads folder.
  4. If pop-ups are disabled, you need to enable them for psycnet.apa.org. Only some of the PsyINFO records can be exported to EndNote desktop. Please check carefully that you have all the records you require.

Collecting references from Compendex
 

1.Connect to Compendex and search for references to articles/other documents.

2. Select/click the box next to each search result that you want to export.

3. Click on the Download this record icon (highlighted below).

4. In the Download record(s) screen, make sure you select Remove selected records after download. Select EndNote. 

5. Click Download record(s).

6. Select Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.

Collecting references from Embase

Sign in is mandatory in order to export from Embase.

Exports are only available to registered users.

Embase search result.

Embase export formats.

  1. Select/click the box next to each search result that you want to export. Click Export.
  2. Select RIS format for the Export format. Click Export and then click Download.
  3. In the File Download dialog box, click Open.

Collecting references from PubMed

  1. Connect to PubMed and search for references to articles/other documents.
  2. Search for records. Select/click the box next to each search result that you want to export.
  3. Click Send to at the top of the page.

    4. PubMed search result.

  4. Select Citation Manager.
  5. Click Create File.
  6. Select Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.

Collecting references from Scopus
 

1. Connect to Scopus and search for references to articles/other documents.

2. Select/click the box next to each search result that you want to export and Click Export. Alternatively, select all your references by clicking the 'all' box just above your search results and then click Export.

3. A dialog box appears.  Select RIS Format. Choose how much information you want to export in each reference (for example, you can include abstracts). Click Export.

4. Select Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.

Note: It's not possible to export more than 2000 references at the same time. To export them in multiple smaller batches, re-run your search more than once, each time limiting the search to a different date range and exporting the results associated with each set of dates. The date range options appear below the search boxes on the main search page. Alternatively, run your search first, refine your results by using the date filter in the left-hand column, and click 'limit to'.

Collecting references from Web of Science

Web of Science search results

Web of Science export options.

Web of Science record content options.

  1. Open EndNote and open your EndNote library.
  2. Go to Web of Science: all databases or Web of Science Core Collection.
  3. Type in your search terms and click Search.
  4. When the results are displayed, select the references you wish to download.
  5. Click Add to Marked List. Ticks appear next to the references you have marked.
  6. Click Marked List. The number shows the number of references in the marked list.
  7. Select all references then click Export.
  8. Select EndNote desktop.
  9. In Record Content select the fields you wish to be included in the exported records, then click Export.
  10. Select Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.

Note: You might need to allow pop-ups from the Web of Science site in order to continue with downloading references.

EBSCO Databases: 

British Education Index, Business Source Complete, Child Development and Adolescent Studies

Econlit, Education Source, ERIC, Global Health, GreenFile, SPORTDiscus
  1. Connect to the database and search for references to articles/other documents.
  2. Select the search result(s) that you want to export by clicking the Plus icon to the right of each result.
  3. Click the Folder icon on the panel at the top right of the screen. Click the Export button.
  4. Export option: set this as 'Direct Export in RIS Format'.
  5. Click Save then Open and OK.

 

A-Z of Further Databases:

ACM Digital Library
  • Individual references may be displayed in EndNote format and downloaded.
  • By creating a binder within the database, you can download all the articles in the binder at once.
  • To use binders, you must be able to login with a personal ACM web account.

  1. Connect to ACM Digital Library and search for references to articles/other documents.
  2. Select your references and select Export Citations.
  3. In the Export Citations window select EndNote then select the blue arrow to download the citations.
  4. Select Open file in the browser or open the file from the Downloads folder.
 
Emerald
  1. Connect to Emerald and search for references to articles/other documents.
  2. Select/click the box next to each search result that you want to export.
  3. Click the Download RIS option just above your search results.
  4. Select Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.

IBSS
  1. Connect to IBSS and search for references to articles/other documents.
  2. Select/click the box next to each search result that you want to export. 
  3. Select the 3 dots (All save options).
  4. Select RIS (EndNote, Citavi, etc.).
  5. Select Content and Sort Order when these options are available. If not available, they will be greyed out.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. Select Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.

Note: If pop-ups are disabled, you need to enable them for search.proquest.com

 

JSTOR
  1. Search for records.Select/click the box next to each search result that you want to export.. Click Export Selected Citations.
  2. Click Export a RIS file.
  3. Select Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.

 

MathSciNet
  1. Connect to MathSciNet and search for references to articles/other documents.
  2. Select the references you wish to download.
  3. From the drop-down menu labelled Batch Download select the format Citations (EndNote).
  4. Click Retrieve Marked.
  5. When the list of references appears in your browser window, save it in the browser as a text file.
  6. Open your EndNote library.
  7. From the File menu select Import-File.
  8. Click Choose and browse for the text file you just saved.
  9. For the Import Option, select EndNote Import.
  10. Click Import.

 

Sage Journals Online
  1. Enter your search parameters and click Search.
  2. Check the boxes beside the references you wish to download.
  3. Click Download selected citations.
  4. Select the format EndNote and click Download Citation.
  5. Select Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.

 

Social Policy and Practice
  1. Connect to Social Policy and Practice, and search for references to articles/other documents.
  2. Click/select the box next to each search result that you want to export.. Click Export.
  3. In the Export Citation(s) window, select the format EndNote.
  4. Select the fields you wish to display.
  5. Click Export.
  6. Click Open file in the browser or open from the Downloads folder.
  7. If prompted, select the filter Social Work Abs (OvidSP) then click Choose.

Manually creating references

Some resources don't provide options for exporting references (for example, public websites). The resource might be unpublished or be an interview you have conducted or a review you have written yourself. Therefore, you might need to manually create some references as follows:

EndNote Desktop select reference type drop-down.

EndNote Desktop author names field.

  1. Open EndNote and open your EndNote library.
  2. Select a group if applicable, or select All References.
  3. Select the Add a new reference icon. EndNote Desktop add new reference icon.
  4. Check the Reference Type. If you need to change this, click the drop-down arrow. 

  5. Enter author names for the reference. Individual author names must be entered one per line. As you type, EndNote suggests names similar to the one you are entering. This is EndNote's way of using term lists to facilitate the process of entering new references. If the name appears in red, this indicates it is a new name in the Author term list for this EndNote library. If the author is a corporate author, place a comma at the end of the name to ensure the name sorts correctly.

  6. Continue entering the reference, using the TAB key to move to the next field, and SHIFT+TAB to move to the previous field, if necessary. You can also use the mouse to click in the desired field. 

  7. Use semicolons, backslashes or line breaks between keywords. No extra punctuation (such as parentheses around the year) or text styles (such as bold or italic) are entered into the reference. EndNote adds the necessary punctuation and text style changes to the references when it creates a bibliography.

  8. Add any manual file attachments to the reference if required.

  9. Click Save.

  10. Close the Reference window.

  11. When prompted to save changes, click Yes.

Annotating pdfs

You can make annotations (sticky notes) or mark up text within a PDF using the toolbar in the PDF tab.

EndNote Desktop pdf toolbar.

Adding sticky notes

  1. Select the Markup/annotation icon. EndNote Desktop markup/annotation icon.
  2. Navigate to the section in the PDF where you want to add the sticky note.
  3. Select the Add a sticky note icon. EndNote Desktop sticky note icon.
  4. Double click on the sticky note to type your comments.
  5. When you've finished annotating the PDF, click the Save icon in the toolbar. Click Yes when prompted. 
  • To delete a sticky note, right-click over the Sticky Note icon and select Delete Annotation option.

Highlighting text

  1. Select the Markup/annotation icon. EndNote Desktop markup/annotation icon.
  2. Select the Highlight the selected text icon. EndNote Desktop highlight the selected text icon.
  3. Select the text you want to highlight.
  4. The selected text is highlighted in yellow.
  5. When you've finished highlighting the text, click the Save icon in the toolbar. Click Yes when prompted. 
  • To hide sticky notes and highlighted text, move your cursor over the text. Right-click and select Hide Notes/Markup.

Find Full Text feature

EndNote offers a "Find Full Text" feature that allows users to locate full text for references already in their library. You might consider using the following OpenURL parameters to maximise the chances of finding available PDFs. 

  1. Open EndNote Preferences (under Edit), select "Find Full Text"
  2. Make sure that OpenURL is ticked as an option.
  3. Enter the OpenURL Path: https://bath.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/view/uresolver/44BAT_INST/openurl?
  4. Enter the Authenticate with URL: https://ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/login
  5. Click Apply

EndNote Preferences showing find full text options

To use the Find Full Text feature, you need to first select the references for which you want to locate the full text, then click on the References tab, and select Find Full Text. 

Be careful when using find full text to automatically download PDFs. It is possible to inadvertently breach copyright law by downloading more than 5% or 1 paper from a single journal issue if you have references to multiple papers from a single issue saved in your EndNote Library. Please check before using this feature. Publishers detecting breaches may block your access to their e-resources. 

Importing pdfs from a folder

If you've already downloaded some full text pdfs and you would like to import these into EndNote, the best approach is to save these together in one folder and then import from the folder.

EndNote provides tools to mark up and annotate pdfs.

Importing pdfs from a folder

  1. From the File menu select Import then Folder.
  2. Click the Choose button.
  3. Browse to the folder containing your pdfs.
  4. If the selected folder lists sub-folders, check the box labelled Include files in all sub-folders.
  5. If you wish to create new groups corresponding to your folder structure, check the box labelled Create a Group Set fof this import.
  6. In the Import Option list select PDF.
  7. Click Import.

EndNote Desktop import pdf window.

Set pdf handling preferences

You can set preferences in EndNote to automatically import pdfs added to a specified folder in the future.

EndNote initially stores these in the Imported References group.

If you don't manually move them to a group, EndNote will create an Unfiled group to store the references in.

 

EndNote Desktop pdf preferences window.

  1. From the Edit menu select Preferences.
  2. Select PDF Handling from the list on the left.
  3. You can set the option to auto rename pdf files as they are imported.
  4. Check the box labelled Enable automatic importing.
  5. Select the folder where you will store downloaded pdfs.
  6. Click Apply then OK.

Searching pdfs

The Search PDF feature allows you to search for words and phrases within the PDF. EndNote Desktop search pdf icon.

  1. Type keywords in the text box and press Enter.
  2. Use the Find the previous occurrence and Find the next occurrence buttons to find the next / previous instance of a search term.

The Search PDF feature only searches within the currently open PDF. You cannot use this feature to search the reference fields in the Reference panel or to search other PDF files that are attached to the current reference.

Running an Online Search from within EndNote

The Online Search command in EndNote's Tools menu connects you to online databases and online catalogues without having to leave the EndNote program.

It isn't considered best practice to search for documents from within EndNote. It is better to search individual databases because this gives you a better set of refined search options.

A connection file contains all the information necessary to connect to, search and import references from a specific online database. Please note that at University of Bath you may not be able to connect to all services listed. PubMed and UK academic services are likely to be the most reliable.

Marking connection files as favourites in Connection Manager

EndNote Desktop connection manager window.

  1. From the Tools menu select Connection Files, then select Open Connection Manager.
  2. Check the boxes beside any connection files you wish to use.
  3. Close the EndNote Connection Files window.

Running an Online Search

EndNote Desktop choose connection window.

EndNote Desktop remote search window.

  1. From the Tools menu select Online Search.
  2. Choose the connection you wish to search.
  3. Type in your search parameters.
  4. Click Search.
  5. Review the references on the Summary tab and select the references you wish to add to your EndNote library.
  6. Click the icon to Add the selected records to your online library. EndNote Desktop add selected reference icon.
  7. The selected references will be added to the Unfiled group. From here you can move them to other groups as required.

 

Online Search groups

When you have searched a database previously, or marked a database as a favourite in the Connection Manager, it gets listed in the Online Search list in the Groups pane. You can start future searches of that online service by clicking the name of the service in the Groups pane.