Level Up IRL & Virtual LUV Editions: Citation Management: Mendeley, Zotero, Endnote 11/18/20

Each InfoGuide linked below provides links to the products along with tutorials and resources.

Features change. This table was created on 11/17/20. Check your target product to make sure the feature you are interested in is still offered.

Adapted from Penn State LibGuide with permission on 11/13/20 https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/CitationStyles/Tools 

How do I search the library databases through Endnote desktop version?

• Unfortunately the library does not support the purchased desktop version of Endnote. Contact Clarivate directly for assistance with this. We do though recommend not searching library collections through citation managers. Our recommendation is start in the individual library databases and then export/upload references. Yes we recognize there is a convenience to starting inside a citation management tool to gather large amounts of references, but you will lack precision in your searching. Each article database company designs their backends differently and the best way to leverage the power of their search features is to search from inside their products.

How do I start to think about organizing all my references using subject terms or tags?

• If writing and article or thesis or dissertation, start by thinking about the trajectory of your research and try to map research topics. What are the themes of your intended finished articles? What are the common and outlier themes within articles you have found? What keywords represent those themes?
• Start to create a vocabulary using your database search terms the look at the keywords assigned to the articles in relation to how you might assign keywords to your intended outcome.
• Try to visualize all the themes and words to better think of the research you have found.
• Faculty writing articles might also add folders for names or target journals.
• Students in classes might use course names if they have multiple papers to write across multiple courses. Don't add tons of subjects or tags and keep in mind what you start with might need revising as you try words and see how they work for you.
• Consider deduping if you realize lots of repeated articles are present in your citation manager.