Systematic Reviews: Managing records

The transfer of records from databases into EndNote is not an exact science - problems can and do occur. It is therefore important to check the quality of records at the point of transfer.

When records are transferred into your Library the Reference Window initially displays just the transferred references (your other references will be temporarily hidden). This provides a perfect opportunity to check records for any issues.

Use EndNote's Change and Move Field command to automatically add text (such as the name of the database, saved search name, or date searched) to your imported records.

This is very handy for keeping track of where records came from, and assists you if you need to return to the database for any reason later on.

Use EndNote's Groups and Group Sets command to quickly identify databases searched, then create individual groups to house results from each of the databases.

To create a Group Set (eg. the "Databases" set in the image at right):

• Select Groups | Create Group Sets. Name the group set then press <Enter>.

Next, create each group to include in the set:

• Select Groups | Create Groups. Name the group then press <Enter>.
• Continue to create groups.

To add references to groups:

• Highlight the reference in the Library Window and drag the reference to the specific group.

1. Run the EndNote Find Duplicates command (available from within EndNote, via References > Find Duplicates).
   
   By default EndNote will identify a record as a duplicate if it includes the same author/s, year of publication and title as another record within the Library.

Use EndNote's Groups and Group Sets Command

To create a Group Set (eg. the "Excluded" set in the image at right):

• Select Groups | Create Group Sets. Name the group set then press <Enter>.

Next, create each group to include in the set:

• Select Groups | Create Groups. Name the group then press <Enter>.
• Continue to create groups.

To add references to groups:

Create Customised Fields for Storing Specific Information about Records

• Select Edit > Preferences > Reference Types from the left side of the Preferences Window.
• Select the Reference Type (eg. Journal Article) to adjust, then . 
  The template for each reference may be selected from the drop down list at the top of the Modify Reference Types Window.
• Within the Journal Article template, scroll down to one of the Custom fields, then type your inclusion/exclusion criteria in the cell to the immediate right.
• This new field must be included within each of the Reference Type templates - select to apply across all templates, then .

Adjusting your EndNote Library Window to Display Customised Fields

To change the column headings:

• Select Edit > Preferences, then Display fields from the left side of the Preferences Window. Select the fields to display from the 8 drop-down lists, then .
• If you want to change the name of a column from the default EndNote field name, type the required text in the Heading text box.