2 Steps on using EndNote on academic research

Steps on using EndNote on academic research

A note that cites a specific source or gives a short descriptive remark at the end of a research paper and is chronologically arranged in relation to where the references appear in the publication is called an endnote.

It is the citation of sources that directs readers to a particular part at the end of a paper where they can locate the source of quoted words or information cited in the paper.

Endnotes and footnotes are similar. The only exception is that they a situated at the end of a research paper and not at the bottom of a page. They are situated at the end of a book or at the end of each chapter.

In an endnote, your paraphrased or quoted sentence is accompanied by a superscript number.

Example:

Let’s say that you have quoted a sentence from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nation. You have written this sentence:

According to Adam Smith, “Economics is an inquiry into the nature and causes of wealth of nations.”¹

After the quotation, there is a number in superscript. You use the “insert reference” (or citation) function in your word processor to add the number.

The note situated at the end of the research paper (known as the endnote) matches the superscript number. When done with writing your research paper, a note number will be generated by your word processor and a blank spot at the conclusion for you to put in the citation information. The information in this endnote was obtained from several sources.

Notes are numbered sequentially: the first note in your paper is numbered 1, the second note is numbered 2 (it does not matter if you quoting the same source as in #1), etc.

Additionally, even if you are reusing a reference to the same source, your numbers must remain consecutive. If you want to use Arabic numbers, don’t use Roman numerals or even Arabic letters!

The format of an endnote is determined by the writing style you are employing. Endnotes are used in MLA and APA citation styles to offer copyright information or to add to the existing content. In other words, you’ll offer the author, title, date, and any other content or copyright information. Citations in the notes-bibliographic style in Chicago papers are referenced with an endnote. After the main body of the paper, there will be an endnote on its own separate page.

When citing a paper for the first time the endnote must contain the following information

The first and last name of the author, title of the book (City of publication: Publishing company name, Date of Publication), and the page number of the quoted, paraphrased, or summarized content are all required.

Example:

You have written this sentence:

According to Smith, “Economics is an inquiry into the nature and causes of wealth of nations.”¹

At the end of the paper (in the space set aside for this note by your word-processing software), you would put the following information in the following order:

1Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1550-1949 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), 53.

When siting a source again in your research paper you are to use a short form for all subsequent citations to that source:

Author’s last name, First Words of Book Title, page number.

OR

Author’s last name, page number.

Example:

You have already cited the Smith, but then you cite it again in note #6:

6Smith, Wealth of Nation, 48.

If you are citing an article from a scholarly journal, then the endnote needs to follow this format:

First and last name of the author, “Title of the Article,” journal, title, volume #, issue no. (date): pages.

Example:

Adam Smith, “The Wealth of Nations,” Journal of Economics History 11, no. 1 (1776): 34-40.

If you are citing a specific page of the article, then

Adam Smith, “The Wealth of Nations,” Journal of Economics History 11, no. 1 (1776): 36.

How to add an endnote to your research paper using Microsoft Word

Below is an explanation of the simple way to insert an endnote in Word.

Step 1

You are to first of all highlight the text you wish the Endnote to reference.

Step 2

Go to Reference > Footnotes > Insert Endnote. Alternatively, just press Ctrl+Alt+D on the keyboard.

Immediately to click on the insert Endnote, a superscript reference number will appear by the highlighted text. They will then appear at the bottom of the document, indicating were you need to type your Endnote text. The main text and endnote are separated by the horizontal line.

Type the Endnote text

You can add as many endnotes as you wish.

• Click back into your document main text and continue editing.

Tip: double-click the endnote mark to go back to your previous location in your document

Endnote Conventions

When citing a footnote, it is not necessary for the author or title mentioned in the text to be repeated, but it can be helpful to do so. In an endnote, however, it is recommended to repeat the author and title (or at least the author’s last name) because some readers may forget whether the note number was 34 or 44 when looking in the back of a book.

Endnote Numbering

“For each new chapter and section of an article, the endnotes are numbered sequentially, with endnote 1 at the beginning of each. The notes section at the end is divided into chapters and sections, with endnote numbers listed beneath each section breakdown.

You should use superscript type for endnote numbers to make it easier to spot them, and you should use that same number in the notes section to identify the endnote as well.”

Advantages of Using Endnotes

• Endnotes allows for better explanation and are less distracting to the reader
• Endnotes does not litter the page.
• Endnotes being a different part of a research paper allows readers to read and consider all the notes at the same time.

Disadvantages of Using Endnotes

• If you want to look at the text of a particular endnote, you have to flip to the end of the research paper to find the information.
• Depending on how they are, you may have to remember the chapter number as well as the endnote number in order to find the correct one.
• Endnotes may carry a negative connotation much like the proverbial “fine print” or hidden disclaimers in advertising. A reader may believe you are trying to hide something by burying it in a hard-to-find endnote.