Using Google Scholar to Simplify References

A lot of people inside and outside academia - students, faculty, staff, professionals - try to keep track of references using reference managers like Endnote (others include RefWorks or BibTex). When I talk to people who started or never use these tools (and even a few who use them regularly), one of the most frustrating aspects is the process of entering data into the system. Most people don't like data entry - particularly those in the idea business. Dazzled or bewildered by a high speed training of all the possible features people don't find ways to incorporate the process into their everyday life in a way that reduces rather than increases the work, technology, or time burden.

Enter Google Scholar Preferences. Set this up and you can import a citation with a single click. A lot of people have heard about Google Scholar, but many don't know that setting you some easy preference options makes using tools like Endnote and others a lot easier. For those of you unfamiliar with Google Scholar, the search engine provides "Provides a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles." AKA it is a great starting point for a lot of research.

So what do you do:
1. Go to Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com
2. Click on the Scholar Preferences link to the right of the search box.



3. Scroll down to the Bibliography Manager option at the bottom of the page.

4. Select the button "Show links to import citations into" and select the appropriate or compatible import, for this example, EndNote.



5. Click the Save Preferences button on the bottom right of the page.

Now whenever you search for an item in Google Scholar e.g., "Buzzanell, Gaining a Voice", you'll have an option to "Import into EndNote" or "Import into Refworks" under the citation. As long as EndNote or RefWorks is open, click the button and it will import the citation. (Of course sometimes you may have to make slight corrections depending on the original accuracy of the data entry but it saves a lot of typing).



Bonus: If you have access to one or more academic libraries you can set up your Google Scholar preferences to have a preferred library which will let you know if something is available full text in your preferred library.