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EndNote as a Specialized Database

Why it's a Database

EndNote is a database application designed specifically for bibliographies. Once each citation is entered, EndNote allows you to search and sort records by different criteria such as author, title, publisher, year, editors, keywords, and so forth.

The screen capture shows a set of records and fields in an EndNote database.

Other Specialized Databases

Many applications designed to collect, search and sort certain types of data are really databases in disguise. These include iTunes (sort song collections), address books, photo slide show sorters and electronic calendars.

Although many of these programs avoid using traditional database terminology, the database architecture may become more recognizable over time.

Why this is important

Once you understand that EndNote is a database in disguise, you can begin to customize the application so it works even more efficiently. You can:

1. Develop standard keywords which allow you to find citations more quickly.
2. Import data into EndNote from other sources including the library catalog, online citation databases and tab delimited files. You can download a list of citations to search later.
3. Export data into other programs via tab delimited files.
4. Customize the list interface to show specific fields.
5. Develop custom citation styles based on fields in EndNote.

Advantages and Disadvantages

EndNote is designed to allow researchers to store, format and search citations. Users do not have to know about databases in order to be able to use it. The plug-in formatting tool in word processors such as Microsoft Word is a time saver.

On the other hand, EndNote cannot be customized for other uses, nor can fields be added. For instance, there is only one keywords field, and it would be difficult to add fields for different sorts of keywords (e.g. era, region).

Teaching Ideas

• Students writing longer research papers and theses can be taught how to use EndNote to keep track of their citations.
• Students in a course can gather a list of annotated bibliographies and citations which can be merged in a larger database.
• An initial list of citations can be compiled in a database for future semesters.

EndNote Tutorials

• University Libraries

Quick Review

Based on the applications below, try to determine what records are stored and some of the fields in each record.

1. Napster/iTunes
   A: Records are individual songs. Fields include genre, artist, writer, album, year etc..
2. Nutritional Calculator
   A: Records are for each food item. Fields include nutritional information such as serving size, calories, fats, proteins and so forth
3. Electronic Currency Converter
   A: Records are lists of exchange rates. Fields are currency name, country of origin, exchange rate.

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This Website is maintained by Elizabeth Pyatt (ejp10@psu.edu) for Teaching and Learning with Technology, a unit of Information Technology Services.

Last Update: September 6, 2005