NoodleTools Tips

You can use Noodle Tools to take research notes (it creates note cards) and

construct annotated bibliographies and Works Cited pages

 

Logging on: 

 

  1. You can get to NoodleTools directly from the UW Waukesha Library’s homepage: http://waukesha.uwc.edu/lib/index.html
  2. If you are on campus, it will recognize that you have a subscription through the UW Colleges. If you are off campus, it will ask for your UWC username and password.
  3. Each individual user will also need to create a NoodleTools Personal ID and Password (these could be the same as your UWC username and password, but they don’t need to be). 

 

 

Using NoodleTools

 

 

Creating a List of Sources

 

  1. You start at the “My Lists” page.  If you want to open an existing list of sources, click on it.  If you want to start a new list, click on the “Create A New List” button on the right side
  2. If you are creating a New List, you will be asked whether you want MLA or APA documentation and will be asked to give the new list a title.

 

 

Bibliography/Works Cited Page

 

  1. In order to enter each source you are using for the project, you will be asked to identify what kind of source you have and how you found it through a series of drop-down and fill-in-the-blank boxes.  NoodleTools has some hints and tips to help you try to figure out what kind of source you have if you aren’t sure.

NOTE: This is where some users get confused at first.  It will be best if you can try it out on campus so you can ask your instructor or a librarian for help if you get stuck.  NoodleTools gets easier after a bit of practice.

  1. If you are doing an annotated bibliography, you can add your annotation as you add each source.
  2. If you hit the “check for errors” button NoodleTools will flag anything that doesn’t look right (NOTE: it will tell you to abbreviate University” and “Colleges”).
  3. If you want to skip the “check for errors,” hit “Generate Citation.”
  4. If you want to generate a Works Cited page for your paper, click on “Save as Word Doc,” then click “Preview” (if you want to copy and paste it into the end of your paper) or click “Export and Print” (if you just want to print it).

 

 

 

 

Note Cards

 

  1. For each list of sources, you can create a set of research note cards. Click on “Notecards” at the very top of the page.
  2. If you want to organize your notecards into “Clusters,” click on “New Cluster,” otherwise click on “New Notecard.”
  3. You are required to give each individual card a title, to distinguish it from the other notecards (it should be a descriptive title of what is on the card).
  4. Notice there are separate sections for quoting or paraphrasing.  If working from electronic sources, it is easy to copy and paste into the “Quotation” section
  5. “Tags” can be created to help you identify the topic of each card. Later, you can search for all of the cards with the same tag.
  6. When you are done with a card, click on the “create notecard” button at the bottom of the page.
  7. If you want to change an existing notecard, there is a (tiny) “edit” button in the upper right corner of each card.
  8. If you want to print your notecards, it will ask you how you want them to look on the page (two per page works pretty well).

 

 

Sharing Lists with Instructors

 

  1. If you click on the “My Lists” tab at the top, you will see that at the bottom of the page that you can set it up so that students can share their lists with instructors electronically.
  2. Your instructor will need to set things up in order to do this and will give you instructions if sharing lists is required.

 

 

Troubleshooting

 

1.      NoodleTools is designed to be compatible with Word.  It won’t work as well with other word-processing programs.

2.      Sometimes NoodleTools asks you to update your profile.  This is not a sign that something is wrong.

3.      You won’t always be able to use the “Back” button in the browser…this usually jams things.  You need to finish screen you are on and go forward; you can then go back and edit things.

4.      Especially at first work slowly and read the advice/explanation that NoodleTools provides next to most boxes.  If you rush through it (especially at first), you are likely to make a mistake.

5.      NoodleTools treats CQ Reseacher as a “periodical subscription” not a “subscription database” (meaning it sees CQ as different from Ebscohost, Proquest, LexisNexis, etc.)