<img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b119/whitkit/WEEK6.jpg">

This week’s lecture firstly included tips on how to improve our blogs in the form of the marking key. It was suggested that students focus more on the aspects of the blog that were worth 5 marks as appose to parts that were worth 1 or 2. Secondly, the program EndNote was formally introduced to students. EndNote is a program that allows people to organise their references correctly and with ease. Different ‘libraries’ can be created for each set of references (generally a new one per assignment) and once a person builds their skills with the program, they can use EndNote with MS Word. Just as in any program in which you are saving data, it is a governing principle that you must back up your work.

In week six’s workshop, students were asked to properly reference information given on Blackboard using EndNote. To do this, we were to create a new library, choose where on the computer to save the document and remember to select APA 5th as the reference style, fist of all. Secondly, to create a new reference, students were then to right click and select ‘new reference’. Once the new window opened, the appropriate reference type was to be selected (journal, book etc) and the fields were to be filled in where possible. Once all of the information was filled in, that window was to be closed and the reference would be automatically saved to the library. The information in the library is also saved when the main window is closed. I personally found this activity to be the hardest so far. It wasn’t so much using EndNote that was difficult, but rather deciding what information would be appropriate for what reference type. For the more complicated information, I have to admit I did Google search titles to see what they were. If it were not for Google, I don’t feel I would have been able to complete the activity correctly. I definitely have to work on recognising reference types for the future. For a screenshot of my EndNote activity completed, view the picture below (click for full image):



The readings for this week included a basic overview of the various benefits of using EndNote. It began with letting the reader know about what EndNote is (a reference storing program) and how to start up a library. It was also known that you can set up a default library to open every time you start EndNote. The readings then went on to inform the reader about how to add a reference to your library and how to change the reference type. When entering reference authors, it was suggested that the user does not use periods after an initial, but rather a single space. Sorting options for references was also shown (by author, year, title etc) as well as how to search for a reference. It was also shown how to select different Output styles (in our case, we use APA 5th). The readings then included information about incorporating MS Word to EndNote to be able to ‘cite while you write’. It is also possible to import information from online databases (ProQuest) directly to your library, which I believe would be extremely handy.