Monday, January 29, 2007

Thing #11--NoodleTools


What does starchy, carb-laden goodness have to do with properly citing your sources? In reality, not much. There is, however, a growing number of online tools you can use to assist you with citations. One such utility is NoodleTools, a utility recently added by the library that allows you to created formatted bibliographies online, then export them to programs like MS Word.

For this activity, you will:

1. Set up a Noodletools user account.

Follow these instructions carefully:
  • Go to Noodletools from the library web page.
  • If you are off-campus, you'll need to login with your NetID and last name before proceeding.
  • Select "NoodleBib"
  • Now, create a user account by selecting "Create a New Folder" under the Personal Id and Password boxes (Ignore the ID and Password boxes for now).
  • For your user account, make sure you choose something you'll remember, such as your NetID or blogger login info.
  • You are ready to go! Select "Noodebib" to begin a bibliography you can store and edit online.
2. Using the 2 web resources you found in Thing #10, generate 2 APA citations using Noodletools.* Notice that you can save your list. This will come in handy later when your final project is due.

Now copy and paste your APA citations and post them as Thing #11. That's it!

Notice that when you log out of Noodletools and then log back in, all of your stuff is saved online. Very convenient for future papers and your final project for this class.

*Noodletools is helpful, but it's only as good as the data you input. Follow the input instructions carefully and use the help links to guide you in identifying the citation components.

For an online guide to APA style, see Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Also, remember that the absolute authority for APA Style is the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (call # BF76.7 .P82 2001), available at both the reference desk and in the stacks.

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