Papers and APA, argh!

I know I am a ER RN, started going to school again 3 semesters ago- APA stinks. Did you download the APA style helper?

Ashley

I had been using the Purdue OWL website, but not finding everything I really needed. I will definitely check this out. Thanks, both of you!

(Just writing my conclusion now, then I have to hit the dreaded references.)

ERnurse752,

I have been looking into the Perrla software, too. I was wondering if anyone on this board has used Perrla, endnote, or reference point. Those are the big ones I've been reading about. As I understand it, the program asks for the pertinent info and formats not only paper and references, but the bibliography as well. Let us know what you end up buying and if you like it. :) Shannon

I use EndNote and would be lost w/o it.

EndNote does NOT format your paper, only your citations and reference list. The nice thing is that it has a huge library of formats, so if you're submitting a morificecript to X journal that uses Y format, you're good....although I confess I have rarely (so far) ventured away from APA.

Also, many university level data base search engines like OVID allow you to download the citation directly into EndNote so you don't have to type anything, and you have the full abstract as well as the key words, ISBN # etc. And you can attach .pdf files and urls to it as well. The search function rocks and it's great to be able to find again that article that your vaguely remember but will be perfect for the current bit of writing.

Finally, there tech support ROCKS. I've called a few times and emailed a few times and my questions/issues are always answered promptly and correctly.

If you're looking for an APA formatter EndNote won't do it, but as I've said eslewhere, the biggest issues with APA is how you format your citations and references, and EndNote does that excellently -- but it's also a lot more than that (and I know I've only scratched the surface of it's functions).

One of the first acts of my PhD program was buying EndNote. I wish I'd had it sooner (and started adding some of my required reading sooner too, not just my own searches), but I'm very satisfied with it.

Someone on another thread mentioned 'Reference Point' software.

I bought and downloaded PERRLA today and finished my paper with it - I think it's pretty awesome!

I love it, too. It has saved me a lot of time in the last few years. Congrats on finishing your paper!

I have been using the PERRLA software for three years and I love it. You still need to have a basic understanding of APA formatting, but it is a godsend when writing papers.