EndNote Tutorial supports academic writing at the University of Newcastle
Faculty Librarian — Engineering & Built Environment
University of Newcastle, Australia
April 2007
To meet the support needs of enthusiastic EndNote® users at the University of Newcastle in Australia, library staff developed a modular online tutorial. Students, researchers and academics worldwide can now teach themselves the basics of using EndNote at their own pace, choice of time, and location. The Tutorial has also been added to the PRIMO database (Peer Review Instructional Materials Online) that is used by libraries all over the world to teach people about discovering, accessing and evaluating information in networked computer environments.
Introduction
The University of Newcastle, Australia has held a site license for EndNote since 1995. Support for EndNote since that time has been provided by Library staff in the form of
- a support website
- face-to-face training sessions offered on both a generic and discipline specific basis
- training manuals and guides
- a consultation service co-ordinated by the Faculty Librarians
During the 1990s use of EndNote at the University of Newcastle, Australia was largely confined to the researcher and postgraduate student population, and the commensurate support required for this population of users was manageable.
However, in recent years EndNote's ability to manage and store references, and to easily format in-text citations and create bibliographies has been recognized by academics involved in undergraduate teaching programs across many Schools at the University. Lecturers have recommended EndNote use by their students from their first year of study; likewise, the students themselves have enthusiastically adopted EndNote as an essential tool in their academic writing.
As a result, requests for support by undergraduate students had increased exponentially. At the same time, library staff supporting EndNote were very aware that a large population of students who study online, or who are located geographically outside the Newcastle region, either inter-state or overseas, did not have the opportunity to attend the scheduled training sessions. An online tutorial covering the fundamentals included in our training sessions offered a solution, by providing an opportunity for all our students, researchers and academics to teach themselves the basics of using EndNote, at their own pace, choice of time, and location.
Structuring the EndNote Tutorial
A project team of five University Library staff worked on the Tutorial for three months in early to mid 2006. Team members were Debbie Booth, Michael Carr, Susan Day, Helen Lloyd, and Ann Stokes. Several members of the development team had worked previously on the University Library's information literacy and academic integrity tutorial – InfoSkills, and utilized many of the project planning and development techniques that were successful from that Project.
The EndNote Tutorial is divided into four modules:
- Getting Started: advantages of using EndNote, compatibility issues, opening libraries, manually entering references
- Transferring from Databases: an explanation of how EndNote works with library databases, the basics of transferring references using direct export, the impart filters, and connection files
- EndNote and Word: covering the use of EndNote with Microsoft Word, especially how to add and edit citations in a Word document, select a reference style and create standalone bibliographies
- Managing your Library: customizing Libraries, searching, term lists, backing up
Learning objectives covered by each of the modules are stated at the start of each module, and reinforced again at the conclusion.
If a complete overview of EndNote is required by a new user, the Tutorial can be worked through in a sequential manner. Alternately, those users needing assistance on a particular concept are able to link directly via the Sitemap or Alphabetical Index of concepts. Links to both of these are included on each screen within the Tutorial.
Content of the Tutorial was conceptualized using storyboards. This allowed the team to structure the content, ‘chunk' concepts into manageable segments, identify and develop links and related elements across the Tutorial, and to ensure that learning objectives had been covered.
Demonstration files
In recognizing the variety of learning styles of our students, the project team was also very keen to ensure that users of the Tutorial were able to view demonstrations of the concepts covered. To date, over 40 demonstration files have been included in the Tutorial, created using Adobe's Captivate software. We are continuing to identify further opportunities for developing Captivate movies; at present we are developing movies demonstrating how to transfer references from many of the Library's databases into EndNote.
Some formative assessment opportunities are included within the Tutorial providing an opportunity for users to self-assess how well concepts covered have been understood. We plan to develop more of these as time permits.
User testing
A key stage of the Tutorial development involved user testing. With advice from one of the University's Learning Designers, a formal test plan was developed covering navigation, content, sequencing, and design elements. Undergraduate students participated in these tests, with many of the observations and recommendations incorporated into the Tutorial. In addition, library staff involved in supporting EndNote via the training sessions and at our Information Desks provided invaluable feedback.
Feedback received so far, from individual academics who have recommended the Tutorial to their students, the Feedback Form located within each of the modules, or via comments at our Information Desks, has been extremely favorable.
International recognition
The Endnote Tutorial has now been added to the PRIMO database (Peer Review Instructional Materials Online) by the American Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries. The PRIMO database is used by libraries all over the world to teach people about discovering, accessing and evaluating information in networked computer environments.
The University of Newcastle EndNote Tutorial is accessible to all at: www.newcastle.edu.au/service/library/tutorials/endnote