Once you get to know NoodleTools, you will wonder how you ever lived without it. It really takes the pain and guesswork out of citing sources. Take a look at the NoodleTools pages in BUILD IT.
Try it - you will like it!
NoodleTools is a citation composer, which means that you supply the information about your source and NoodleTools generates the correct citation. Not only that, it arranges all your citations into a properly formatted references list.
NoodleTools can be accessed from the Services menu on the library homepage: Managem Your Citations: NoodleTools. When you click on it, you will be prompted for your BU login (unless you are already logged in), then this is what you will see:
The first time you use NoodleTools, you will have to create an account.
To do this, click on Register (at the bottom of the login box) then choose a Personal ID and Password. Be sure to fill out the Easy Login Retrieval just in case you forget your ID or password. Provide this same login each time you use NoodleTools; you will need it to see your files or create new ones.
Create a New Project
The first screen you will see after logging in is the My Projects page. Advanced APA format is selected by default, Be sure to change it if you need to use MLA. The next step is to give your project a name in the Project Title box. This will just help you identify it if you eventually have multiple projects saved in NoodleTools.
Dashboard
Once you have created a new project, you will be taken to the Dashboard. There are some handy tools here, such as a To Do List to keep you on track, and provide a way to share your project. However, this is not a required page and you may start adding citations to your list right away. Just click on the Sources tab at the top of the page.
Now that you have all the preliminaries out of the way, it is time to do what you came to do -create citations!
After you click on the Sources tab, click on Create new citation..A pop-up box will appear that asks you how you accessed your source, for example, in a library database, a website, a print book or journal, etc. Once you click on one of these, a comprehensive list of specific types of sources will be displayed. Select the one that describes your source; the most common ones are listed first. This will bring up a form to enter all the necessary information. Fill it in carefully; suggestions will appear as you type, guiding you through capitalization and other rules. When you are finished, click on Submit. Repeat this process for every source and your citations will take care of themselves. NoodleTools will show you a preview of your citations as you add them. You can easily make changes if you notice a mistake.
That's not all! When you are finished, NoodleTools will import your list to Word or Google Docs, perfectly formatted and ready to add to your paper. Don't worry about saving your list; NoodleTools will save it automatically in your Projects.
An in-text citation is a shortened form of the full citation. It is not enough to list the references you used at the end of your paper. You must also indicate specifically what information came from which source. This is where the in-text citation comes in. This type of citation usually appears in parentheses at the end of the sentence which contains the quote, paraphrased passage, or information being cited. It provides enough information to lead the reader to the full citation in your References list (APA) or Works Cited list (MLA). As an added bonus, NoodleTools also shows you the corresponding in-text citation once your full citation is created. Click on Options to the far right.
For examples of both MLA and APA in-text citations, see the In-Text Citations page in BUILD IT.
You have located your sources, you know how to cite them, now what?
Go on to Module 5: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER to find out.
