PhD blog: 28
Graham Foster
- January 2009.
The story so far… Graham is in the second year of his part-time PhD in which he is investigating American literature post 9/11.
EndNote (or Why I am Making It Hard for Myself)
The PhD student has to be a bookworm. It has to be in the blood. They have to be nerds, wienies, geeks or any other hideous name for the diligent student you can think of. They also have to be obsessive, both in their desire to learn more and more about their chosen field and organisationally. It makes the whole bookworm thing easier to deal with. Let me explain. Since I started my PhD in September 2007 I have read so many books I wouldn’t even like to take a guess at a number. I have also written lots of notes, both by hand and on the computer. But when it comes to writing up the notes, the bibliographic details of each individual book have to be on hand, for speed and accuracy. It’s no good trying to search out the details as you go from the piles of books on your desk, or your jam-packed bookshelf. No, you need a neat, digital, automated system that will save you time.
The answer
So what can be done about this? Bewildering spreadsheets? Maybe, but there is something about a spreadsheet that withers my own personal soul in a way that cannot be described in a neat and family-friendly way. How about keeping lists in a Word document? Time consuming and messy, and you’ll have to look through the list all the time, trying to find the exact set of bibliographic details and copying them into your thesis. There is a digital knight in shining armour though. His name is EndNote. It’s a database (stay with me here, it may not be interesting but it is useful to know) and it’s used to keep the details of your research library so that you can access exactly what you need at the touch of a button. You can enter as much (or little) detail as you want and you can even change the format of it (say if you are working in MLA format, or one of those complex and strange scientific ones that a mere Literature student cannot fathom in any way, shape or form). Best of all you can insert the bibliographic reference, in the correct format, wholesale into your work without having to type it out again and again. It’s a time saver and vital to any study process. And universities should give a tutorial session for research students (at least mine did, and it was very helpful).
EndNote should be available for free on all the computers in your university, and it should be accessible through Microsoft Word (or similar program). And you can buy it for your own computer, with discounts if you buy it through your university’s intranet.
A problem
Despite this promotion of EndNote, I have yet to use it. I’ve been on the tutorial and I know all about it but I’m yet to get stuck in. Why is that? Believe me, I’m asking myself the same question. It all comes down to the fact I can’t afford it. I could, if I’m honest, use it on the university computers, but I do 99% of my work at home or on my laptop, and I’m very comfortable with this pattern. Even though I’m making it very difficult for myself, with my lists of books and such.
All I can do is hold out for the next round of funding and hope that 2009 is my lucky year. Third time lucky and all that. It’s getting to about that time to apply for funding again, and I’m desperate, nervous and deeply concerned about having to do another year in this state of poverty. My brain is now worth more than my bank account and I want to redress the balance…
Read my previous PhD blogs
Graham's other blog (on BlogSpot)
Suggestions to editorial@prospects.ac.uk
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