EndNote is a reference management tool designed to help you organize, manage and share bibliographic references. It also lets you create and format in-text citations and reference lists in various citation styles. With this tool, you could generate citations in APA style for your paper easily. You are reminded to check the accuracy and completeness the citations generated from the tool.
Basic Set Up for EndNote (3:17)
This video shows how do you:
Add References to EndNote Library from FIND@HKUL (3:12)
This video shows how do you:
Add References to EndNote from Library Databases (4:12)
This video shows how do you:
Edit References in EndNote Library (1:26)
Add References from EndNote to Microsoft Word (MS Word) (2:03)
This video shows how do you:
Edit Citations in Microsoft Word (2:40)
This video shows how do you:
Adding references to EndNote Library
EndNote has no limitations on the number of EndNote libraries to be created and used but multiple libraries are difficult to maintain. You can organize all the references in a single EndNote Library by creating separate groups for different projects and subjects.
PDF(s) could be inserted to EndNote library to create citation given that the Digital Object Identifier (DOI)* information is available in the PDF.
*Make sure the PDF is not a scanned image file. EndNote is not able to read the DOI if the PDF is scanned in as an image. Also, the format of the DOI should be displayed as a text tag of "doi:" or a URL starting with http://dx.doi.org/.
To insert PDF to EndNote to create citation,
EndNote provides “Capture reference” plug-in for extracting reference information from webpages to EndNote Library. The plug-in can be downloaded from EndNote online account.
To install the plug-in,
To add citations from a web page with the plug-in,
(For Mac)
(For Windows)
Select EndNote 20, or click on More apps if you cannot see EndNote in the options list.
Ensure the option Always use this app to open .ris files is selected before clicking OK.
Editing in-text citation and reference
In APA 7th, when two authors (both are the first authors of the work) have the same surname, initials for the authors are added to the in-text citations to tell readers they are different people from two publications. The below examples are created in EndNote and the initials of the authors have been added along with the surnames to the in-text citations automatically.
In-text citation
(P. G. Bruce, 1995)
(C. Bruce, 2001)
Reference list
Bruce, C. (2001). Faculty-librarian partnerships in Australian higher education: Critical dimensions. Reference Services Review, 29(2), 106-115. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907320110394146
Bruce, P. G. (1995). Structure and electrochemistry of polymer electrolytes. Electrochimica Acta, 40(13), 2077-2085. https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-4686(95)00144-4
To differentiate references from different sources by the same author in the same year, a lower case letter would be inserted after the year of publication of the work automatically in EndNote. See examples below.
In-text citation
(Bruce, 2001a)
(Bruce, 2001b)
Reference list
Bruce, C. (2001a). Faculty-librarian partnerships in Australian higher education: Critical dimensions. Reference Services Review, 29(2), 106-115. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907320110394146
Bruce, C. (2001b). Interpreting the scope of their literature reviews: Significant differences in research students' concerns. New Library World, 102(4/5), 158-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/03074800110390653
When multiple studies and researches from more than one source support the same idea, you can reference the sources in the same in-text citation parenthesis. Order the citations of the works alphabetically (in the same order as they appear in the reference list).
The below in-text citation is created in EndNote by selecting multiple citations in EndNote Library (click Ctrl to make multiple selections) and insert the “selected citations” in Word at once.
In-text citation
Two studies (Bruce, 2001; Zemlin, 1998) have concluded that…
When a book citation is added to EndNote from FIND@HKUL, the reference would be added as the reference type “Book” by default. But you can create a citation for a book chapter of the book by editing the citation information of the record in EndNote. Double click the citation record and select Edit to start editing:
The preview of the book chapter citation generated in EndNote
Sometimes, EndNote may not format the citations correctly when the citations are added from FIND@HKUL and library databases, and therefore, it is important to “preview” the citations in EndNote and make necessary changes before inserting them to MS Word.
Online resources such as Academic Writer (the official online resource created by the American Psychological Association for writing in APA style) and APA Formatting and Style Guide (maintained by Purdue University's Online Writing Lab), provide guidelines in formatting citations in APA 7th.
Below is an example of incorrect formatting of an online journal article in APA 7th added from FIND@HKUL to EndNote. In APA style, when referring to the article title, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. From the example below, the first letters of all the words in the article title are capitalized when the citation is added from FIND@HKUL to Endnote.
► Double click the citation and select Edit. Look for the Title field, change the capitalization of the article title and click Save to save the changes made. In MS Word, click Update Citations and Bibliography to update the citations if needed.
Another example is a print book added from FIND@HKUL to EndNote. In APA style, when referring to a book with an edition other than the first, the edition number of the book should be added to the citation. From the example below, the word “ed.” is repeated two times when the citation is added from FIND@HKUL to EndNote.
► Double click the citation and select Edit. Look for the Edition field, delete the extra “ed.” and click Save to save the changes made. In MS Word, click Update Citations and Bibliography to update the citations if needed.
Technical Issues
(For Mac)
Way 1: Check for updates in Word. In MS Word, click HELP and select Check for Updates.
Way 2: Close all the Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, etc.).
Way 3: Re-install the software by following the EndNote installation guide
Way 4: Quit MS Word and add the tools manually by following the steps provided in the Knowledgebase article here
(For Windows)
Option 1: Check for updates in Word.
Option 2:
Option 3:
Option 4:
Option 5: Re-install the software by following the EndNote installation guide
Sometimes, this issue occurs if the instant formatting option is turned off. To enable instant formatting,
The problem may also be due to the new Security & Privacy setting of the Mac (Mojave OSX) which prevents EndNote from being able to automate. Follow the steps HERE to fix it.
The problem is due to the installation of the Mendeley plug-in in MS Word. Follow the steps below to remove the Mendeley plug-in in MS Word.
If the problem persists, follow the steps on this page When inserting a citation from EndNote X8 or X9 I get the error: 'Cannot edit range' to remove the Mendeley Word add-in completely.
Mojave includes new Security & Privacy functions which can prevent EndNote from being able to correctly automate. To fix this,
It was due to the compatibility issue between the MacOS Catalina and EndNote for Mac version X9.2 or before. Please reinstall version X9.3.1 from HERE to solve the problem (you are advised to backup your EndNote Library beforehand).
It is a known problem that the .ris file cannot be directly exported with the Safari browser on a Mac OSX system. Try exporting the .ris using a Mozilla-based browser instead (see http://www.firefox.com/).
When the Cite-While-You-Write plugin is set to link with the EndNote online account, it may keep popping up to ask for your online account login details (no matter you have or haven’t registered for EndNote online account). Follow the steps below to make changes to the setting.
Others
You are recommended to create citation with the EndNote Cite-While-You-Write plug-in in MS Word. But still, EndNote can be used to generate in-text citation and reference list in Google Doc. The process is not as straight forward as it is in MS Word. You may follow the steps from the guide Using Endnote with Google Docs by the James Cook University Library. You have to repeat the same steps for each citation added to the Google Doc.
There are two ways to transfer an EndNote library on a second pc (EndNote should be installed on the second pc).
a. Create a compressed library and move it to a second pc
b. Use the EndNote online sync function
a. Create a compressed library and move it to a second pc
When an EndNote library is created, it comes with two files: .enl and .data. To transfer an EndNote library on a second pc, you have to move the two files together - the easiest way is to create a compressed library.
On your second pc,
b. Use the EndNote online sync function
The EndNote Sync feature can also help transfer an EndNote library to a second pc. Registration of the EndNote online account is required for the Sync function.
►If you have not already had an EndNote online account, click the Sign Up button. Fill in the information as required.
► If you have an EndNote online account * , enter the login details to start the sync process
* If you have previously saved references on your EndNote online library, references from your EndNote desktop and EndNote online library will be merged (and duplicates will be created) once the sync process starts. Therefore, before clicking the Sync icon, make sure the references in the online library are not duplicates to the EndNote library on your desktop. (If there are duplicates, delete them and empty the trash file before syncing).
On your second pc,