Are you starting your dissertation? Do you lack confidence citing references in your work? Have you been marked down for inconsistencies in your bibliography?

EndNote Web can help!

What is EndNote Web?

EndNote Web is a free online service you can use to:

• store and organise useful references you find whilst researching topics
• insert references in your Word document
• automatically build and format your bibliography in a style of your choosing

It’s perfect for undergraduates and Masters students as it is a cut-down version of the Desktop EndNote program used by researchers.

How do I use it?

EndNote Web is freely available, but University members can access an enhanced version as part of the Library’s subscription to the Web of Science database. You can use it on both PCs and Macs.

Log in to the Web of Science, click ‘EndNote’ in the top menu and sign up for an account. Once registered you can use it both on- and off-campus.

How do I get references into my EndNote Web library?

You can manually type in details of useful books and articles you have found, but there are quicker methods to download multiple references from databases and the Library catalogue.

Direct export

This method is available on the Web of Science and all of the Ebsco databases (including Business Source Complete). Just search the database for your topic and select save/export to EndNote Web.

Import

For most other databases you can save a file of references and import them into EndNote Web. To find out how to do this on your preferred databases, check our database A-Z list – this has information on how each one works with EndNote Web. If you need advice, contact your subject liaison librarian.

Online Search

You can use the Online Search facility within EndNote Web to get book references from our catalogue, Enterprise, into your library.

Writing your essay or dissertation

Once you have references in your EndNote Web library you can insert them into your Word document as you write your essay or dissertation. Word’s Cite While You Write toolbar allows you to search your library for the reference you want to insert and it will automatically put the citation in the text and build the bibliography at the end of your document. This toolbar is installed on all campus PCs and is free to download onto your own device.

You can select from a number of referencing styles (Numbered, APA, MHRA etc.) or use the customised Harvard for Reading style. This meets the requirements of many of the science and life science departments at the University. If you need to change your style, all of your citations and references will be reformatted automatically – no more rewriting your references at the last minute!

Getting help

Our guide to getting started with EndNote Web (PDF) will take you through all the steps involved in creating your EndNote Web account, getting references into your library and using it with Word to write your essays or dissertation. You can also view EndNote Web videos produced by Thomson Reuters, the suppliers of EndNote Web.

Alternatively, contact your subject liaison librarian for individual help and support.

This is one of a series of tips to help you save time and effort finding information

This tip was written by Jackie Skinner, Library Web Manager and Liaison Librarian and Caitlin McCulloch, Trainee Liaison Librarian.