Software for keeping track of paper reference information?

[DeadCactus]

I recall reading a thread here along the lines of advice from experienced MD/PhD students to the new guys. One of the points was to make it a habit to read one paper/article a day and to plug the infomration into a particular software program to keep track of it for use in the future.

Does anyone know what I'm refering to and have either a link to the post and/or then ame of the software?

Thank you.

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[j-weezy]

I believe you can do this with EndNote. There's also a free version called BibTex that comes as part of a LaTex package. It's super cool - you can download an entire list of references and then put in the local address of the pdf if it's on your computer that way you can easily use your citation to find the paper on your computer (no lost references!)....

I may be the only person who thinks this is cool but hopefully this forum is nerdy enough to not judge me.

 

[Inuranic]

Uh, EndNote is amazing.

Expensive, but if you're resourceful (hint), you can get it easily.

 

[j-weezy]

This is going to sound weird considering I'm not a CS person...BUT I like the freeware version better than EndNote - maybe I'm just not used to EndNote's format yet or maybe it's because I've been using BibTex with LaTex and those two work together really well (I'm sure EndNote works well with Word)...eh, I never thought I'd be all pro-open source or whatever but there you have it...

 

[solitude]

Uh, EndNote is amazing.

Expensive, but if you're resourceful (hint), you can get it easily.

You should be able to get a free version: any school that has an MD/PhD program will have an institutional license that allows them to give you a copy. I recommend just contacting the Office of Information Technology (or the equivalent).

 

[Picklesali]

Uh, EndNote is amazing.

Expensive, but if you're resourceful (hint), you can get it easily.

Yes, EndNote is awesome.

Nerds unite!

 

[DeadCactus]

Is it possible to import (or otherwise transfer) between EndNote and BibTex?

 

[j-weezy]

Is it possible to import (or otherwise transfer) between EndNote and BibTex?

It is possible but I couldn't be bothered to figure it out. If I remember there was an article out in cyberspace (I think I did a google search once upon a time) on how to convert everything.

Why?

 

[DeadCactus]

Just wondering how easy it is to start with one and switch to the other later.

 

[goldsonic99]

If you run firefox check out zotero. It's a free and nifty little program that integrates into firefox and has a lot of excellent functionality for keeping track of your resources.

 

[xanthines]

Ha! Mine doesn't!

We have to cough up some stipend if we want to use EndNote. To be fair, though, we do get it at an extremely reduced rate.

-X

You should be able to get a free version: any school that has an MD/PhD program will have an institutional license that allows them to give you a copy. I recommend just contacting the Office of Information Technology (or the equivalent).

 

[solitude]

Ha! Mine doesn't!

We have to cough up some stipend if we want to use EndNote. To be fair, though, we do get it at an extremely reduced rate.

-X

Ugh, sorry! Maybe your PI has a license and will let you pirate it?

 

[nosugrefneb]

If anyone is using a Mac, check out Papers from mekentosj.com. It's a powerful PDF organizer that links to pubmed listings and exports to a number of reference-publishing applications like EndNote. Fantastic program.

Actually, the whole mekentosj.com site is pretty amazing. They have a ton of Mac-specific programs for scientists as well as some science knowledge resources. It's just two guys who wanted some better science applications for the Mac, so they learned how to code and wrote the programs themselves.

 

[j-weezy]

If anyone is using a Mac, check out Papers from mekentosj.com. It's a powerful PDF organizer that links to pubmed listings and exports to a number of reference-publishing applications like EndNote. Fantastic program.

Actually, the whole mekentosj.com site is pretty amazing. They have a ton of Mac-specific programs for scientists as well as some science knowledge resources. It's just two guys who wanted some better science applications for the Mac, so they learned how to code and wrote the programs themselves.

I just checked out that site. It is sooo cool! Well, by cool I mean super dorky but those programs are awesome!

p.s. I love the franzia love in your avatar

 

[nosugrefneb]

I like to keep things classy.

 

[j-weezy]

OP - I just downloaded Papers and it is awesome! It's like EndNote and BibTex combined. Definitely check it out.

 

[Picklesali]

Is there a PC version of this wonder program?