Why Endnote for your PhD?
People are often curious about how I manage to reference my dissertation. Ph.D. students are typically expected to use the Harvard referencing system. This means you have a list of all your sources at the end, and each source has its own number, which you include in brackets next to the relevant information in the body of your work. Ph.D. students will also probably be aware that Endnote is very useful for this, as it integrates into word seamlessly and makes adding references easy (not least because it remembers what you've used before). I previously was using Zotero, but found cross devices used was not supported in the way that made my workflow smooth.
I first heard of Endnote when taking my undergraduate degree - unfortunately, I didn't know enough about it back then to save myself time on referencing! However, a quick Google search brings up some good tutorials on how to use Endnote with a word. I've shared some useful links at the bottom of this post for anyone else who is new to Endnote and wants to know more about how it can help them (or indeed, if they're simply interested in finding out what all the fuss is about).
I use Endnote because it saves me time when putting together my dissertation. In addition, ph.D. students are often juggling writing with teaching or working on research papers - so any help speeding up your referencing process will be well worth it!
Endnote also offers several other advantages over manual referencing:
1) If you make changes, or correct any error, or even insert additional text within the body of your work - everything else stays in sync automatically. So say you move something to a different part of your text or change the order of headings in your shortlist - Endnote will update all the cross-references effortlessly for you.
2) It's easy to go back and forth between word and endnote references using the 'go to' function. Ph.D. students have probably found themselves writing different things into their dissertation that they realize needed as sources but can't see it currently cited anywhere - this is where remembering what you're looking for actually saves you time! Going straight from word into Endnote means that I can do this much more easily than if I were trying to remember everything off the top of my head.
3) When citing works I've been sourced online (e.g., newspaper articles, blog posts), it's often hard to pinpoint the exact place you want to reference within a document. Ph.D. students may also have problems searching for online content - there may be multiple versions of the same article available with different dates and publishers. In Endnote, all these things can be tracked down by looking at the 'cited source' function - which allows you to go back from your own work into specific places in that reference.
4) You can search for references directly from Endnote and export them as bibliographies (in several styles). Ph.D. students will probably know how much time this saves! It's also possible to create templates according to your particular type, including spacing and margins - meaning everything looks uniform and professional.
I've found other Ph.D. students who use Endnote instead of the Harvard system - although it's not that common (which I think shows how much faster and easier it is!) It's also possible for Ph.D. students to hire a student editor to help them with formatting their work - this is something which we recommend you look into if your Ph.D. studies are taking longer than expected!
Everyone has different ways of working, and there may be other programs or shortcuts out there which suit other people better. But I can definitely say that after converting over from Microsoft Word, my life was made so much easier by using Endnote! All in all, considering the time-saving benefits Ph.D. candidates are aiming for when researching and writing their Ph.D. dissertation, Endnote is a fantastic tool that I've found invaluable.