From database search to writing

Thank you to Dr Steve Wright for his very insightful session looking at a workflow that takes the researcher on a cyclical, digital journey from searching the literature to writing a thesis/paper.

The introductory slides are available here: 20150415 Research Bites – from database to writing, and the recording will be available to watch soon.

The session was based on the assumption that the researcher is searching, reading, note-taking, managing documents, and writing digitally, potentially using multiple devices, such as laptops and tablets/iPads.

Most of the examples used Web of Science and Endnote Web, and Endnote for iPad, which are tightly integrated. Most databases and search tools, such as OneSearch and Google Scholar, also facilitate ‘pushing’ references to Endnote and other reference management tools.

When it comes to annotating and highlighting text in PDFs, Steve mentioned doing this within Endnote, or using other apps such as Good Reader, which allow you to export your notes.

For more intensive textual and qualitative analysis, Steve briefly introduces atlas.ti, which he’ll look at more next Thursday’s session. This software allows you to code your notes, effectively creating data out of your reading…

Questions

Why would I use Web of Science rather than Google Scholar? Yes Google Scholar does have very broad coverage, and quick indexing which is done by automated web crawlers. It’s great for broadening your search beyond journal literature into grey literature, conferences and websites. Web of Science on the other hand is a well-established, complex bibliographic database that indexes 12,000 ‘high impact’ journals and has much more sophisticated search functions, indexing (e.g.. subject categories, refining features) and citation data.

Does using Endnote for iPad and storing PDFs in your Endnote library fill up your iPad with PDFs? PDFs are not automatically synced to your iPad, so you only tap and download the ones you want to read at the time.

Can you unattach/delete PDFs from your Endnote references? Yes there is an option to delete the PDF.

Can I get Endnote to work on my Mac? This handy Lancaster Answer tells you how.