Educator Guide

Your students become better researchers Citation tool helps prevent plagiarism Citing is intuitive, encouraging students to cite while they write, properly crediting sources and avoiding plagiarism Instructional features teach information literacy – students grasp what they are researching and learn to evaluate online sources  Easily create a bibliography in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles  Export to Word or Google docs fully formatted  Create in text citations, and tag and sort citations. Cite/autocite 58 source types  Instructional Website evaluation, Citation guide, Source guide, and LearnCite features Notebook improves critical thinking and research habits Notebook teaches students to meaningfully organize their notes helping them become organized and effective researchers  Two systems: virtual note cards and Cornell Note taking  Create an outline  Group, color, and tag notes, and associates them with your outline and sources Used by over 24 million students!

The EasyBib experience “My interest in EasyBib stems from my users’ interest in it: I’ve been getting feedback from students that the amount of time and effort required to learn and use some other citation tools is greater than students need, or want, to invest. They find EasyBib to be easier to use.” -Cheryl LaGuardia Harvard University Research Librarian

Getting started…

Use EasyBib to promote library resources Once you sign up for an account, your school’s logo will be displayed here Here students can find links to their library homepage, databases, and other library resources Create a two way flow between your library resources and EasyBib *Many of your students may be familiar with the free version of EasyBib

Registering - Using IP authentication 2. Register and create an account with EasyBib 3. Or register with an existing third party service like Facebook 1. Click the register link Registering from IP authenticated school computers instantly gives students premium feature access. Register at any point to create a premium account, save your work, and access it from anywhere!

Registering – Using a coupon code Give your students a unique coupon code to register with EasyBib and access premium features

Registering – Using a coupon code with a third party service Register with a third party service Click coupon codes link at account page to upgrade Add coupon code to access premium features. IP authenticated computers will have immediate access

This is the project management page. Students can create, manage, and view projects. Start by clicking “create a new project.” Getting started

Creating a New Project Next, select the desired citation style (students can always change this later) First name the project Then click “create”

The new project has been created and appears at the bottom Starting a bibliography or notebook To start creating citations for this project, just click “Bibliography.” Click “Notebook” to create notes and an outline

Using the citation and bibliography tool

Teaching the best practices of research EasyBib’s citation tool improves research By making citations intuitive and easy, students are no longer intimidated by the citation process Students are encouraged then to cite while they write, instead of waiting to put together their bibliography at the end of their paper, properly crediting sources and preventing plagiarism Improving information literacy Website evaluation tool indicates which online sources should and should not be used in research. By providing robust criteria and examples, students learn to critically think about what they are reading online Source guide makes students understand what they are researching by providing source definitions, examples, and alternatives Citation guide visually teaches where bibliographic data is found LearnCite dynamically shows students how data is formatted while providing style specific help

Selecting a source type to cite Here is the bibliography start page. Students can easily select the most popular sources to cite, or they can click all 58 options to see all the sources EasyBib supports

Viewing all source types Students can cite almost any source. This encourages students to explore different sources types and cultivates a diverse research approach Search and cite up to 22 of the 58 sources

Students can automatically format book citations by simply entering a title, keyword or ISBN Simply enter a search term, find the appropriate edition from the list, click ‘select’, and... Citing a book

Click the “Create citation” button, and... The fields are automatically filled in saving students time to focus on research! Citing a book The LearnCite box dynamically shows where different elements are placed within a citation as information is entered, and highlights specific rules such as those around capitalization, helping students understand the citation process EasyBib encourages students to check the information Select the correct medium, such as website, and add additional info

The citation is automatically formatted and added to the student’s list. They continue the process to build a works cited Building a bibliography

Automatically cite a website by simply entering a URL. EasyBib will grab the data from the site and automatically fill in the form *EasyBib cautions to check that all of the information is correct and to fill in any empty fields Citing a website

EasyBib has analyzed the most cited websites and alerts students on what sources are credible to cite, what aren’t, and what are in the middle Information literacy for websites EasyBib shows students the robust criteria used to evaluate the website, and if not evaluated, provides criteria and questions to help them evaluate the website as a credible source to use in research

Information literacy for websites EasyBib provides visual examples and guidelines so students learn to find and analyze criteria used in evaluating online sources. Examples show credible, questionable, and non-credible websites

Source guide – Choosing the right source If uncertain about a source, a student can click the help link, which is on all 58 forms and the tab menu The Source guide helps students understand and distinguish what type of source they are citing by providing definitions, examples, and suggestions of different source types, and guides them to the correct form

Citation guide The Citation guide, found at the tab menu, provides definitions of key sources, and shows where bibliographic data is found and formatted, helping students understand the fundamentals of research and information gathering

Manual entry and annotations If preferable or if information cannot be automatically found, students can manually enter their citation data. EasyBib will properly format whatever is entered You can add annotations to any citation

Importing citations from databases Select “Upload citations” from the “All 58 options” menu Upload citations to any list. EasyBib supports Bibtex and Endnote files If your students frequently use databases, they can easily upload citations from databases into EasyBib

Direct citation export from databases Numerous databases support a direct export to EasyBib, making it easy for students to export their citations. The number of supported databases is growing

Parenthetical citations and footnotes Create parenthetical citations in MLA and APA and adjust information included. Click the rules link on the bottom right to see the parenthetical citation guide Create and save footnotes in Chicago style

Switching citation styles, sorting, and tagging Add tags to organize citations Transitioning between MLA, APA, and Chicago is seamless and automatic Sort alphabetically, by source, by tag, and date created Manage citations and move them between projects

Exporting your bibliography Sharing and exporting your work is easy Students can export their fully formatted works cited to Word or Google Docs. They can also copy & paste, , or create a unique URL to give to a teacher so they can access the bibliography online and directly view online sources

Using the notebook

Notebook promotes effective research Structured note taking… Students can link notes to sources so they can remember where information comes from, helping prevent plagiarism Quotes area where students can copy and paste and track content Paraphrasing area encourages students to synthesize and understand information Comments area pushes students to think aloud and explore ideas Ability to associate notes with the outline helps students trace information and properly credit sources within their paper Fluid organization… Organize and identify ideas, themes, and concepts by grouping, tagging, and coloring notes Easily moveable virtual notes cards promotes brainstorming List view help students understand notes and content along the various organizational means Outline helps students dynamically conceptualize paper ideas

Notebook Create virtual note cards, associate notes with your outline, and manage your notes in list format Access the notebook through project management page or by clicking the notebook tab

Notebook – Creating a New Note Title your note Click the “New note” button or double click anywhere within the note pane to add a note Copy & paste a quote Comment on the note Associate the note with a source in your bibliography Organize your note by putting it in a group or by adding tags Reword text by paraphrasing in your on words Add a page number, paragraph number, or URL, to better track information

Notebook – Managing virtual notes Students can create virtual notes and arrange them within the space by dragging and dropping Bird’s-eye-view navigation provide ample room to arrange notes Use the organize button to add colors to notes or groups, and to manage tags The Notebook allows students to fluidly manage and organize information as they research

Notebook – Using groups Group notes by dragging notes, or groups on top of one another. Change the group name by double clicking it Double click the group to expand it. Add and remove notes from the expanded group

Notebook – List view View and manage notes based on groups, tags, notes associated with sources, or by the date notes were created Click list view to see notes in a more expanded, scrolling format. Create and organize new notes in this view as well. List view is interchangeable with visualize view, and modeled after Cornell Note taking Students can easily disseminate notes along numerous dimensions helping organization

Notebook – Creating an outline Using the outline tool, students can dynamically structure and connect notes with their paper ideas as they research Drags and drop bullets or use the navigation bar Students can drag notes or groups from the notes pane to the outline to associate notes with parts of their paper (drag and drop from both visualize and list view)

Notebook – Printing and backing up notes Students can click print to export and back up their notebook. This will open up a webpage where they can easily copy and paste their notes and outline

The EasyBib experience “Because the Web site is so intuitive and quick, they can focus on using reliable sources and documenting them properly instead of worrying about formatting the citations correctly.” This is fantastic and exactly the type of application the Net was created for. I'm going to suggest it to every student I have.“ -Professor, Penn State University "I tell all of my students about this service. I teach at a university and this is the most accurate service I have found!“ -Maria, Professor -MaryAnne Karre Give your students the tools to embrace better research!

Gives your students a tool they will love “I love your website. I don't know how I would make it through all these papers without you! Thanks so much!” – Matthew, College Student “Thank you so much for this website, I absolutely LOVE it. I have one teacher who is really picky about bibliographies and using this website I got an A. I told a couple friends about this and now most of the eighth grade uses it, even my English teacher uses it to check things. You are geniuses thanks a trillion” -Taylor, Junior high student “EasyBib, I love you! Can we get married? Haha, I just felt like shooting you all a note to tell you how much I really appreciate the service you offer. It is incredibly helpful, makes me feel extremely organized, and is also quite aesthetically appealing. Thanks again!!” -Michelle, student Over 100,000 fans on Facebook!

Learn more about our institutional products, and request a personal webinar or trial at: