Import Bibliographical Data

The Import Bibliographic Data Assistant is displayed when you import bibliographical data from EndNote, Mendeley, RefWorks or Zotero. The options on the Assistant allow you to control how the reference data is imported.

Import Bibliographic Data Assistant steps

The information below provides a guide to using each step of the assistant.

Assistant step

Description

Specify name and classification options

Use the options on this step of the Assistant to determine the name of the sources that are created during import and to specify classification options..

Name sources by This option indicates how internal and sources will be named when they are created during the bibliographical data import process. You can choose to derive source names from:

The title of the reference—for example, Rising seas in the Pacific.
The author and year of the reference—for example, Smith, Andrew (2010).

Assign sources to This option indicates how sources will be assigned a source classification during the bibliographical data import process. You can choose:

A single classification (Reference)—references of any type are assigned to the Reference classification. The reference type is recorded as an attribute on the source. Using a single classification allows you to work with all references in a single classification sheet and create queries that search all references by attribute values such as year or author.
Different classifications based on record type—for example, Journal Article or Book.

Specify how reference records are handled

Use the options on this step of the Assistant to determine the location of the internal and external sources that are created during the import process. You can also specify whether to import source content (where available) and whether to create linked memos.

Under Location to create sources

For sources imported as Internals, you can select a different folder in the Internals folder hierarchy.
For sources imported as Externals, you can select a different folder in the Externals folder hierarchy.

You can choose to Import source content from file attachments, URLs and figures where available.

If you choose to import source content, where possible, NVivo imports the file as a new internal source—for example, as a PDF or picture source. The reference information is stored as attribute values on the new source.
If you choose not to import source content, then the reference is imported as an external, with a link to the file. The reference information is stored as attribute values on the external.
If for any reason a file cannot be imported, then NVivo creates an external to represent the file attachment. The reference information is stored as attribute values on the new external, and the external has a link to the file.

You can choose whether you want to Create memos from abstract, keywords and notes.

If you choose to create a memo, content from the abstract, keywords, notes and research notes are imported into a linked memo.
If you choose not to create a memo, the notes and research notes are not available in NVivo for Mac.

NOTE For each reference you import, NVivo checks whether a matching source already exists in your project—if there is no matching source, a new source is created. If a matching source already exists, then the reference is not imported, and the original source in your project is retained.