So I've mentioned that I don't use Endnote, or any other reference manager. Before you all go apeshit on me, I will say that I recognize that it's the 21st century and that I am missing out on a real convenience by not using reference-managing software. But here's why I don't: I'm lazy.
I keep pdf copies of all my papers in one giant folder. They are labeled by author and year with a few keywords, and despite the fact that this folder now has hundreds of papers, I seem to be able to manage it.
I finally got a copy of Endnote several years into grad school. For a while, I made an effort to build a library with all the papers I had. I was pretty excited about it, but I soon decided it was a pain in the ass to transfer my makeshift pdf system to Endnote. And then I lost interest. And then I got a new-to-me computer that didn't have Endnote. I didn't think to ask for it, and that meant that I couldn't throw my dissertation references into it at the last minute.
Perhaps more importantly, I get a lovely sense of satisfaction from manually building the reference list for each paper. The gradually accruing list is like a progress meter for the paper. Look at how much I've written! Look at how many papers I've read! Look at how thorough I am! Ha-ha!
Admitedly, the big pdf file is starting to get a little out of hand now. I will probably spend some time sorting something out before I get hot and heavy into a post-doc. I downloaded Zotero a few months ago, but I didn't take the time to figure out how to use it. Since it seems I'm not committed to anything, so I'm open to suggestions!
20 comments:
I use Endnote, but since I can't bring myself to trust computers I don't do the automatic insertion thing that is supposed to make Endnote-Word collaborations so fabulous. I go in and copy things from Endnote and paste them into my References list. It is nice to have the searchable Endnote database, though, and to have the program format my citations so I can just copy/paste. Works for me, though definitely the time investment to get the library set up in the first place is the biggest hurdle.
I miss my ENDNOTE now... I'm in a place without endnote. I had my papers in physical form too, as well as in Endnote.
I liked the easy reference insertion and reformatting the references after what the journal wants. that said, I would never have any system anymore with my papers without endnote. They are way too many to fit in one pile, or even five (which is what I have at the moment, hidden in cabinets)
I have both the pdf's and refmans things (the other endnote). I do not use refman to look anything up on content, its just really easy that the thing arranges your citations the way a magazine wants you to. Switching from one journal to another is easy, no need to retype the whole references section, just push a button and it is done. Just laziness, I guess that I use it ;-) And I do not have to think how many names you can name before you use et al.
I would be frustrated after the 2nd reference, especially when I finished the bunch, and the co-authors decided on sending it to another journal with different reference-list demands! I think it is brave not to have it!
I'm firmly in love with Endnote. It is my go-to procrastination tool because I'm being productive without doing anything really helpful to whatever I'm working on.
I've heard good things about Papers, but that might only be Mac.
Hey EGF, in your other post I was already glad to hear that there is someone else out there who *also* does it by hand! All 8 chapters, my endless reference list, and I did it by hand! Although, after having one manuscript submitted now at the third journal, re-formating the ref-list by hand every time - makes me start thinking... Maybe I will start using endnote... Sigh. Papers does export to endnote, does it?
You're nuts ;)
I used to do the manual list thing, then tried Endnote (which is a pain in the butt when it slows Word down, and frankly isn't easy to get your pdfs into).
There's another new option, though: Mendeley, which is free and has a Word interface (although I haven't tried that part yet). The best thing about it is that to add papers, you just drag and drop pdfs from your folder, and the program looks up all the information it needs from the papers themselves. You can also use it to share papers with people online (in public or private groups), and it will open the pdf through the desktop interface - no searching through the original folder. I'm thinking it could be the next really useful thing!
I second what Tuff Cookies says about Mendeley. Don't bother using EndNote to manage pdfs. It's not worth it. Programs like Mendeley were designed to manage pdfs. EndNote was designed to help you manage references.
I managed my pdfs for a few years in a series of folders, and it worked because I was consistent with naming (I could always search for the first author's name in a file). Now I have Papers too, and Mendeley. I'm using Papers for my own stuff and Mendeley for group projects because it is great for sharing things.
I use EndNote just for cite-while-you-write, by far its best feature. Zotero does it too, and Zotero syncs with Mendeley. I'm a little concerned about my EndNote library playing nicely with my Papers library, but we'll see what happens. I'll figure it out.
Do let us know what you decide to do (if anything)!
I do it by hand too! I'm glad to see someone else does as well. I find Endnote to be more of a pain than it's worth. I like doing the references at the end - it's a mindless task for when I'm burned out.
I have used EndNote for my dissertation, and I cannot imagine life without some reference manager software, especially in situation where there are deadlines to do some properly referenced writing quickly...
Last year I started using Zotero, as I am all for open source software. It seemed difficult at first, but I have watched their tutorial videos, and they are excellent! I recommend to start with the "Quick Start Guide" video. Zotero turned out to be a piece of cake.
Their videos set up high-standards for user documentation, and I wish all software help people were able to explain things so clearly. True, you need to spend a little time to learn any new software, but it is a good investment of time, as in the long term it is going to save you much more time over the years.
Just remember to take regular back-ups of your zotero library, and to do it when the browser is switched off!
Mendeley, Mendeley, Mendeley!
I tried Zotero for several months, got too frustrated about a few things, then switched over to Mendeley. I'm totally in love. I use Mendeley to organize all my pdfs, and I use Endnote to cite-while-I-write when I write/edit papers (plus everyone in my lab uses Endnotes and I need to be able to manipulate and add to their individual Endnote libraries as needed).
Mendeley syncs with Endnote and Zotero, but I haven't figured that out yet. I keep meaning to write a blog post on the virtues of Mendeley--I'm evangelical about it!
And EGM, I'm e-mailing you privately after this...
I can't imagine not using endnotes! I don't use it to manage pdfs, just for inserting into manuscripts, etc. As a result, I don't really "build up my endnote library", I basically just pull the paper straight up from pubmed through endnotes when I want to insert it.
Try Papers. It allows you to leaf through all the pdfs AND exports references. Also, you should be able to just drag and drop in your existing pdfs.
I had the ultimate love-hate relationship with Endnote in grad school, but now I would gladly take him back (because although Endnote is a major b!tch, I am certain that he must be male). Like chall, my current world is endnote-less.
I built new Endnote libraries for each paper and each dissertation chapter. It was super easy to pull references from search engines, and then I kept them down to a manageable size. Not really what Endnote is meant for, but it worked for me.
Oh my gosh, it's time to give yourself over to the Endnote gods!!!! You can save the PDF of articles along with the citation info. My only major beef with Endnote (or maybe it's with Windows) is that my computer slows down 50x if I *attempt* to have Endnote and Word open at the same time. Which is, you know, any time I want to use it. Pretty sure upgrading from crappy Vista will fix that problem.
OK lady. I'm loving the fact that you are too lazy to use EndNote, but not too lazy to manually enter in you references.
Having said that, I'll tell you that I use EndNote for referencing, and I love it, but I haven't made very much progress using EndNote to manage my library of PDFs. When I started my post-doc, I thought I would do a better job with my PDF library management since I would be using Endnote from the beginning, but so far I've made little progress. Maybe I'll get my shit together when I start writing a paper.
Wow! Looks like I hit a nerve with this post!
Thanks for all the advice. It appears that there are many good approaches to this problem. Did I mention that only one person in my lab uses reference managing software?
I think I might try Mendeley. I downloaded Zotero a few months ago, but I didn't take the time to understand how it works.
Managing the pdfs is becoming more important than managing references at this point. I already have a shit-ton of pdfs, and I'm about to start working in new fields so I think I will be acquiring a LOT more soon.
Hi EGF,
I switched to Zotero for my dissertation. There were some problems at the time, because it didn't work with Word for Mac 2008. But it does now. I link to pdf directly from Zotero, saving them in a separate folder under the name: "year first-author". I like the fact that I can make a separate library for each chapter, adding and removing references to each sub-folder, without affecting the total library. Then at the end, I make a combined library of the chapter libraries. There is no duplication, it's sort of like playlists in iTunes. Deleting something from a sub-library does not delete it from the overall library. And then wayyyy at the end, the whole thing gets generated in one fell swoop.
Right now, I absolutely love Zotero, and it works great with my word processor too.
I'm still not using anything formal! I even don't keep many pdfs on my local PC, just pull them up through the library system (using web of science usually, my institution has the gadget where there's a one-click link from the web of science entry to the locally licensed pdf access for the journal). I do have rather a lot of printouts around - that was the norm when I started my PhD (in 1990...), and I still prefer to close-read important stuff on paper not on the screen. The longer I go without, the more daunted I am by the time cost of starting from scratch...
I'm still not using anything formal! I even don't keep many pdfs on my local PC, just pull them up through the library system (using web of science usually, my institution has the gadget where there's a one-click link from the web of science entry to the locally licensed pdf access for the journal). I do have rather a lot of printouts around - that was the norm when I started my PhD (in 1990...), and I still prefer to close-read important stuff on paper not on the screen. The longer I go without, the more daunted I am by the time cost of starting from scratch...
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