Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
Managing your Dissertation
Use this document throughout your project – particularly
when you are:
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Conducting a literature search.
Managing references using EndNote.
Writing up your dissertation in Word.
Completing the final formatting.
Getting help
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Go to online resources and previous IT and Library Skills
course materials:
 IT skills online at fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk
Use this reference booklet and supporting documents.
Use the help options in the software.
Come to the clinics in March.
Email ITSkills.Support@ncl.ac.uk or
MedLiaison@ncl.ac.uk with questions.
Tips for your dissertation
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Find references using a bibliographic database rather
than Google or Wikipedia.
Use EndNote.
Use styles, captions and cross-references throughout.
Leave section breaks and columns until the VERY
END!
Seek help if images or tables duplicate themselves
throughout your document.
Save your document regularly: use Ctrl S.
Remember that you can always ‘Undo’!
© 2015 Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
In this handout
Getting help .................................................................... 1
Tips for your dissertation ............................................ 1
Tasks ................................................................................. 2
Getting started .............................................................. 2
Task 1 – Perform a Scopus search ................................ 3
Task 2 – Import Scopus references into EndNote ........ 3
Task 3 – Perform a Medline search .............................. 3
Task 4 – Import Medline references into EndNote ...... 4
Task 5 – Manage duplicate references ......................... 4
Task 6 – Evaluate web resources .................................. 5
Task 7 – Format the Word document ........................... 5
Tips for bibliographic database searching ............ 11
Tips for using EndNote .............................................. 12
Tips for using Word ..................................................... 13
Tasks
Getting started
In Word, ensure that you have the EndNote tab on the Word
ribbon. (If the tab is not shown, see page 12.)
Open EndNote and create a new library called dm03.enl.
Leave EndNote open, as you will be returning to it later.
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
Task 1 – Perform a Scopus search
Use Scopus to search for papers on the following subject:
What evidence has been published in English in the last 10
years on the epidemiology of cerebral palsy in low birth
weight infants?
 From the University Library homepage
(www.ncl.ac.uk/library), click on Databases from the
links at the bottom of the page.
 Select Scopus from the list of databases.
Consider your terms, search appropriately, combine results as
needed, and limit the results to material in English language
published in the last 10 years.
Task 2 – Import Scopus references into EndNote
Import references found into your EndNote library.
 From the options above the results, click the ‘Select Page
Results’ tickbox.
 Select Export.
 Select ‘RIS Format’ & ‘Citations and abstract information’.
 Click Export, then open the file created. (If prompted,
choose the ‘dm03’ EndNote library just created.)
Task 3 – Perform a Medline search
Use Medline to search for papers on the same subject:
What evidence has been published in English in the last 10
years on the epidemiology of cerebral palsy in low birth
weight infants?
 See online video.
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
 From the University Library homepage
(www.ncl.ac.uk/library), click on Databases from the
links at the bottom of the page.
 Select Ovid from the list of databases and then select the
‘on campus’ link.
 In the database list box, choose Ovid MEDLINE(R)
without Revisions1996 to [most recent week]’.
Consider your terms, search appropriately, combine results as
needed, and limit the results to material in English language
published in the last 10 years.
Remember:
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When using subject searching consider whether you
want to Explode either, or both, of the search terms
(remember: ‘explode’ means ‘include narrower terms’).
Epidemiology is found in the list of subheadings.
A stepwise walkthrough of the literature search is
available online.
Task 4 – Import Medline references into
EndNote
Import the Medline references into EndNote.
 Tick the box at the top of the references, to select all
References.
 Select Export > Export to EndNote > Citation and
Abstract > Export Citation(s).
Task 5 – Manage duplicate references
In EndNote, delete any duplicate references, using
References > Find duplicates.
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The 'Find Duplicates' function only identifies exact
matches. In your own database, delete all duplicates.
© 2015 Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University
Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
Task 6 – Evaluate web resources
Use the Intute Training Suite to learn how to assess online
resources for academic integrity.
 Go to the training suite website at www.vtstutorials.co.uk.
 Search and select the Microbiology tutorial, then choose
the 'Judge' link from the black menu bar across the page.
 Read through the tutorial and stop when you reach the
‘Success’ section.
Now look at the following web pages and decide which is of
the highest quality:
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www.herbschina.com
www.bobath.org.uk
Add your chosen web resource to your EndNote library.
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See page 12 for guidelines on web references in EndNote.
Task 7 – Format the Word document
In a web browser go to http://fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk. Under
Biomedical Sciences > Information Skills Assimilation, save
the files dm03.docx, dm03.jpg, and dm03.xlsx to your H:
drive.
 To save a file from the internet, right click over the
hyperlink and choose ‘Save target as…’
Use the accompanying handout to format the document
dm03.docx so that it looks similar to but not exactly like the
handout.
You should follow the order below when completing
this exercise AND when you are formatting your own
dissertation.
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
A – Use your style set
Apply the style set that you created in Advanced Images and
Document Management to the document.
 Select your style set from the Design tab > Document
Formatting group and select your style from the Custom
list.
 If you do not have your own style set, use the ‘Built-in
(Basic (Simple))’ style set instead.
B – Apply styles
Following the notes in the annotated example handout, apply
all the styles to the document, including Headings and lists.
 Use styles from the Home tab > Styles group.
C – Images and tables
Insert the figure dm03.jpg and table dm03.xlsx as shown in
the annotated example handout.
 Insert images from the Insert > Picture menu.
 Copy and paste tables from Excel into Word.
 Put images ‘In Line with Text’; tables with Text Wrapping
set to None.
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Information about managing images is available online at
fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk/images.
Use the table styles from the Table Tools tab > Design tab to
format the table.
D – Captions and cross-references
Insert captions for your tables and figures.
 Use the References tab > Captions group > Insert Caption,
and choose the appropriate label (Figure/Table).
 Type in cross-references throughout the document as
indicated.
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
E – Insert the in-text references
Following the example document, insert from EndNote any
four journal article references plus the web page
reference into the main body of the document, as indicated.
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When citing references in your own documents, ensure you
insert citations at appropriate points in the text.
Avoid inserting EndNote references into textboxes.
To insert references from EndNote:
 Place your cursor in the main body of the Word document
where the reference is to be inserted, as shown.
 Go to EndNote and select the citation(s) to insert.
 Return to your Word document, select the EndNote tab >
Insert Citation group, and select the Insert Citation
button. Choose Insert Selected Citation(s).
F – Format the bibliography
Use EndNote to format the bibliography into ‘Biomedical
Vancouver’ style.
 From the EndNote tab in Word, select ‘Biomedical
Vancouver’ from the drop-down Style menu.
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Not all styles will display a URL in the bibliography.
‘Biomedical Vancouver’ is one such style, so choose
‘Biomedical Vancouver’ instead.
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
Leave tasks G and H to the very end!
G – Section breaks
Show the formatting (paragraph marks, spaces, tabs, breaks
etc) by clicking on the
icon from the Home tab.
Insert section breaks as directed throughout the document.
 You should use continuous section breaks (CSB) in
your document to separate columned areas from full-width
sections.
 Insert a section break by putting the cursor at the
beginning of the paragraph where the break is to go.
 Go to Page Layout tab > Page Setup group > Breaks and
choose Continuous.
 You should place a section break before and after a
figure or a table that needs to span two columns. Also,
before Abstract (lab)/Introduction (lib), and References.
 Problems? Seek help!
H – Columns
Once you have inserted all continuous section breaks,
format the text into columns.
 Place your cursor in the section of text that should be in
columns. You do not need to select the text.
 Go to the Page Layout tab > Page Setup group > Columns
option and choose Two columns.
 Thoroughly check your layout once you have inserted the
columns as your images and tables may look odd!
 Text in columns will ‘bounce’ off full-width images/tables:
Flow of text
Full-width
image or table
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
I – Other document tools
Format the header and footer text and insert a page number.
Insert an equation into the footnote on page 2.
 To insert an equation, go to the Insert tab.
Insert a symbol and superscript the text as directed.
Create an auto-correct entry for one scientific term you will be
using in your project and try the abbreviation out.
 To insert an auto-correct entry, go to the File tab >
Options > Proofing > Autocorrect Options…
Spell and grammar check this document and make any
corrections if necessary.
J – Review your document
Check all aspects of your document and get your colleague to
comment on it for you, using the checklist provided in the
online tutorial: http://fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk/bms/checklist.html.
 You should check all ‘technical’ aspects of your document
in this session, such as your use of styles, captions, image
and table layout, in-text citations, bibliographic style etc.
 You should also thoroughly proof-read your own
dissertation and check for spelling and grammar errors,
inaccuracies, inconsistencies and missing information.
 Check your word count from the bottom left corner of the
Word window and keep within the set limits.
K – Get instant feedback from Albert Expert
If you are working on a cluster PC, follow the link at
http://fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk/bms/feedback.html for instructions
on how to get instant feedback on your work. You can use this
for feedback during your project too.
© 2015 Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
Give us some feedback at
http://fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk/evaluation.
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© 2015 Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University
Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
Tips for bibliographic database searching
Which database?
Ovid Medline/PubMed indexes material from medical,
dental and biomedical journals, published internationally but
particularly those from USA.
The difference between PubMed and Ovid Medline is
primarily interface: Ovid Medline provides Find It
functionality for checking online journal subscriptions;
PubMed does not (you need to check Library Search).
Embase is available via Ovid and works very like Medline.
There is some overlap and it covers fewer USA and more
European and pharmacology/toxicology-oriented journals.
Scopus is wider in coverage, indexing 15,000 journals (plus
conference proceedings, trade publications and patents)
published internationally in a range of primarily scientific
subjects. However, it does not use subject headings.
Searching using Ovid Medline/Embase
Use subject heading searches to get better results in
Medline/Embase. Type your word in and choose the
appropriate mapped term from the list presented.
‘Explode’ determines the subject coverage of the references
found and will include all narrower terms in the search.
‘Focus’ will only find references where the subject(s) searched
is considered to be a major element.
Exporting to EndNote
To export from PubMed to EndNote, choose Send To >
Citation Manager > Create File.
To export to EndNote from Scopus see page 3, or from Ovid
Medline or Embase see page 4.
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Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
Tips for using EndNote
Show the EndNote tab in Word
 In Word, select the File > Options > Add-Ins > Manage:
Disabled Items > Go. If EndNote is listed, reactivate.
 If EndNote is not listed, return to the Add-Ins box >
Manage: COM Add-Ins > Go > Add..., then browse to
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ResearchSoft\
Cwyw\17. Select the ‘EndNote CWYW.dll’ file > OK > OK.
Using EndNote on RAS
When using EndNote via RAS, you must also use the
bibliographic databases (Medline, Scopus etc) and Word via
RAS in order to download and insert references via EndNote.
You can access documents and printers from USB connections
using RAS, but please ensure that the USB device is
connected before logging in to RAS.
Inserting authors when manually adding references
Ensure you enter author names appropriately so that
EndNote will process them correctly.
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For personal names, type ‘Surname, Initial.Initial.’ e.g.
‘Bloggs, J.T.’ (although other formats are accepted).
List multiple authors on separate lines and do not include
additional commas or ‘and’ between authors.
For organisation names, include a comma at the end of the
name, e.g. ‘Department of Health,’.
Inserting web references
Select the reference type ‘Web page’. You should include
Author, Year, Title, Access Date, and URL fields (plus
Publisher and Last Update Date if appropriate/available).
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Author might be an organisation (see above).
Enter the Access Date consistently and include the year.
© 2015 Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University
Information Skills Assimilation – Managing your dissertation
Tips for using Word
Manage your document properly
 Use as few styles as possible from your style set.
 Edit large images in a photo editor (e.g. IrfanView) before
inserting them into your Word document to keep file size
down (see page 6 for a link to more information).
 Use captions throughout.
 Update captions quickly: select the whole document, right
click and select Update Field.
 Remember to update the cross-references too.
Citation styles and inserting in-text references
See page 7 for instructions on inserting references and
formatting the bibliography in ‘Biomedical Vancouver’
style.
Section breaks and columns
 Use Continuous Section Breaks from the Page Layout
tab > Page Setup group > Break option.
 Insert breaks at the end of a paragraph and delete the
blank line.
 Format columns after proof-reading your text.
 Remove columns if you find it confusing to edit text or
move images around, and reinstate them later.
 Surround images and tables with section breaks if they
are wider than one column, so that they span two
columns.
 More information online at fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk/howto.
Columns and your dissertation
 You should put your first continuous section break in
between your name and your abstract. Your abstract
should be part of the column.
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