Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with reference

Why is EndNote so bad at finding the full text of references?

one_bean — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:45:31 -0800

When I click on "Find Full Text" in EndNote, it only finds about 1/4 of the references. Is there a way to increase the number of journals it can find? Unfortunately it doesn't seem to know of Science, or Ecology, or Evolution. Is this just a Thomson-Reuters contractual thing?

Where to get a list of guitar pick-up electrical characteristics?

mhjb — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:25:22 -0800

Where can I find a reference chart of the electrical characteristics of common electric guitar pick-ups? Guitar pick-ups have an inherent resistance, capacitance, and inductance. For simulation purposes I need a reference chart listing these values for common pick-up types. Data for individual pick-ups is fairly easy to come by, but I'm looking for a single resource with many different types.

For anyone interested, this question was inspired by the first schematic on this excellent webpage: Rangemaster.de

"student often made rude and inappropriate requests"

hector horace — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:46:35 -0800

A question about university reference letter etiquette. I'm about to ask a few of my former university professors for references letters. Is it customary for professors to provide a copy of the reference letter to the requesting student before they submit them to the relevant party, (i.e. the school that the student is applying to)? If not would it be bad form to request to see the letters before they are forwarded?

I'm not worried that the letters will be negative but I'd rather have a look at what is said before it becomes part of my application. I'm sure I'm just being paranoid but I hate the idea of not having control over such an important part of my application.

thanks

Zotero + Sente = ?

solipsophistocracy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:08:57 -0800

Can I convert a Zotero library to Sente? I received a lot of great answers about how to maximize my use of Zotero, but when I arrived at my new lab I was informed that the PI uses Sente. I've messed with it a little bit, and it seems really great, but I spent an awful lot of time updating my Zotero library. Is there any way to merge the two? I've tried exporting my Zotero library, but I don't understand how to use the folder it creates.

If I have to, I can just manually retype all my notes and tags, but I feel like there's an easier way to do this.

Where to find a listing of all the deaths in Shakespeare?

starvingartist — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:36:36 -0800

I seek a tome of knowledge pertaining to the Bard of Avalon, one William Shakespeare hight by name. To meet my wishes, it is meet said tome contains a listing of all personae dramatica in each play who meet their end, timely or no. Doth such a book exist? I am writing a play about the death and violence in Shakespeare's plays. I do not have time to read the entire canon back to front and list each character's death myself. Given the surfeit of reference books about the Bard, surely there must be one that contains this information? Do you know?

Help Explain Total Eclipse's "Glee Club of the Damned" and Dr. Horrible's "Dead, Not Sleeping"?

WCityMike — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:47:12 -0800

Could someone explain to me two references I don't get? In Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, Billy receives a letter from "Dead, Not Sleeping" (clip). Is that a reference to something? Also, in the Total Eclipse of the Heart "literal" video I posted to Mefi, there's a lyric that says: "And I've joined the Glee Club of the Damned (reference joke!)" (clip). What's "Glee Club of the Damned" a reference to? I presume it's a reference to something since they outright say it is ...

Had a a great job interview, but was asked for references. I don't have any! Am I done for?

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:06:45 -0800

I recently had a job interview that I felt fantastic about. However, the employer asked me to provide references. I can probably rustle up one, but other than that I've got nothing. Will this completely kill my chances of landing the job? The job is an entry-level position in IT. I feel that I'm a great fit for the job, and I really think the company is interested in hiring me. However, I'm really worried that the lack of references will look bad and sink my chances.

I don't have a lot of work experience. I had one IT-related job and worked retail in high school--that's about it. I'm pretty sure I can get a reference from the IT job, but that's the only one I'm fairly sure about.

1) Will this raise any red flags? I'd like to think that it's reasonable for an entry-level applicant to have few references. However, I know the employer is looking for several references. People are also telling me that it looks terrible to only submit one.

2) I might be able (and will try) to get a reference from my old retail job, but I last worked there seven years ago. Given that it was a retail job from that long ago, would that look silly or unprofessional?

3) I've did a bit of support and data entry for a friend that was setting up an e-commerce site for his family business. However, it wasn't officially a job so it never occurred to me to include this on my resume. I could probably get a reference from him, but it would be from a company that I never mentioned before. Also, his company is also located in a state on the other side of the country. Should I even try using him as a reference? Given the resume exclusion, I'm worried that it will seem like I'm trying to use a fake reference.

Apologies for the wall of text, and thanks for any insight.

Looking for informational note cards

phrakture — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:33:53 -0800

Help me find printable informational note cards I'm looking for something like a DIY Planner, Hipster PDA, or PocketMod that contains informational listings.

I'd really like to create my own little reference guide for different things to carry around with me. I don't have specific information in mind, but I'd like it to be open ended - first aid, log tables, periodic tables, graphs of average penis size per country, you name it.

And no, I'm not all typesetting-cool, so I don't think I'd be able to make something to do this properly with Word/InDesign/Scribus/whatever. I'm really looking for something I can just snag and print.

Any help appreciated.

Emergency medicine FAQ in multiple languages.

greatgefilte — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:47:17 -0800

Does anyone know of a handy reference of emergency medicine questions and statements in different languages? I'm thinking along the lines of cue cards or the like that would have a list of commonly-used questions and other items that might need to be said (e.g. "Point to where it hurts, are you taking any medication? Please give us your health card," etc.) translated and transliterated into a bunch of other languages. Software for a Palm or iPhone would be just as good!

Let's Say You've Gone Back in Time

Orange Pamplemousse — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:16:13 -0800

What knowledge would a time traveler find most useful in uplifting an ancient civilization or establishing personal wealth? I came across this poster a few hours ago, which details what a time traveler in the vein of a Connecticut yankee or archaeologist would find useful.

The list interests me, but I know that the chemistry information at least is incomplete (ie. Knowing some isoform of C20H26O2 is a birth control is meaningless, but bauxite isn't described). Pasteurization and waterwheel -> electricity are examples of the list's strengths.

So, what snippets of scientific information would be good additions to this list? Anything that would improve the ancient society or the traveler's place in it is fair game, provided it can be applied with the tools on hand, or is readily available from simpler knowledge (nuclear fission is out of reach and e=mc^2 useless).

For the purposes of this question, assume the traveler arrives sometime around 200BC in the Mediterranean, with no tools or books. Knowledge of the particular political climate isn't important, I'm more interested in the technology.

What are the best resources for computer novices?

contraption — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:14:36 -0800

What are the best resources for computer novices? I often find myself in the position of helping friends and family figure out how to operate their computers (typically Windows XP or Vista, but OS X tips are welcome too.) While I realize there's no substitute for face-to-face instruction, my time is not infinite and I'd like to be able to set them up with some bookmarks or documents that will give them guidance when I'm not around. I'm especially interested in a well-structured, non-intimidating quick reference tool with general tips like locating a file in the filesystem, compressing/decompressing files, using the clipboard, and selecting which program is associated with a particular file type. It should not take any knowledge for granted, and wherever possible should offer detailed step-by-step instruction with explanations of any necessary jargon terms. Reliable, regularly updated lists of good free programs for various tasks would also be helpful.

Find me inspiring books!

actionpact — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:22:33 -0800

I'm trying to expand my reference library. What are your favorite inspiring books (the kinds with photos/artwork in them?) Basically, I'm looking for any books that have good reference material in them-- not so much the text (though I like reading), but ones that show interesting images to use to inspire me when I can't think of what to draw. (National Geographic came in handy for this as a kid) I don't get to travel a lot but I love to peruse books, so I thought why not find some good sources?

Books with old advertisements, design, patterns, motifs and artwork from indigenous worlds, sci-fi, photos of houses and environments, costume design, books about nature and animals, space, historical photos, underwater photography, the topic doesn't matter specifically, just whatever you have or would recommend I'm super-curious to find out about. Coffee-table books, old books, whatever!

As an example, I have books like these:
Manuel Manilla
The Golden Age of Advertising-the 60's

and am thinking about getting these:
Chasing Rickshaws (I found this in a library and it was great!)
Little House on a Small Planet

Thanks hivemind!

Help me design a writing guide for undergraduates

philosophygeek — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:10:02 -0800

I'm putting together a writing guide for my undergraduate philosophy course. What information should I put in the guide? My goal is to give students a useful reference for writing papers in philosophy, since this course is likely the first course they have had in this field. I would like to do something more than a grammar cheat sheet or style guide. For instance, I am including discipline-specific examples of how to reconstruct an argument, how to effectively use a quotation, and how to adequately explain a central claim. But, I also want to cover at least some of the major grammar issues my students have: e.g. vs. i.e. vs. viz., its vs. it's, and so forth.

In addition to what I should include, I would also appreciate feedback on how much is too much. The guide will definitely be at least two pages, but it could be substantially more. At what point does it become overwhelming rather than helpful? I don't want to create my own book, but I could imagine a 10-page guide. Is that size intimidating rather than helpful?

Help Identify a Song

codybaldwin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:30:22 -0800

Help identifying a (probably free/bumper music) song (is this even possible). The song can be found in two places:
http://homepage.mac.com/littlelovers/index.html?_startPage=37

and in Season 2 Episode 6 of 12 oz mouse:
http://www.tv.com/12-oz.-mouse/auraphull/episode/874838/summary.html

it plays during the credits, and is a slightly different version of the first link.

Can anyone help me identify the producer of this song?

How to double-check my job references?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:34:27 -0800

I recently got turned down for a job I thought was a slam dunk, and am now really concerned about the quality of my references. Going forward, is there any way to check the quality of what people would say about me, or negotiate to improve whatever negative opinions they might have? The job in question was for a full-time position at the same place where I'm currently employed part-time, and while I know it's a tight economy, I believe I had equivalent paper qualifications to most of the other applicants, plus substantially more experience (one of the key listed criteria for the position). So, given that I wasn't even selected for an interview, the only thing I can think of is that there might be a problem with my references.

All three were from supervisors in the field, and I'd checked with everyone before listing them (all agreed). I also thought I'd performed well in all three positions, although in anxious retrospect I can definitely think of imperfections (an unresponded-to email here or there; a single negative comment on a performance evaluation, etc.) that I guess could have been expanded into a negative or lukewarm rec, depending on the person. Since I was hoping to use all these people on future applications, I'm wondering:

Is there any way to get more specific info on what kind of reference each of these people would give me? (All three supervisors are fairly passive, nice-guy types, so I'm wondering how to get a straight answer from any of them). Can I ask for individual meetings to discuss it more specifically, or would that just be awkward? Any alternative options for getting the straight dope on the issue?
In the case of people with whom I have an ongoing relationship (my current supervisor, for instance), is it fair to ask for feedback on what (if anything) I could do to change the quality of the reference in the future, or would I be wiser to write it off as a lost cause, assuming anything negative does come up?

The invisible hand that hates me

MysticMCJ — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:01:47 -0800

A job I was interviewing with suddenly declined further interviews due to an internal reference. I know no details, but my actual given references and my resume are solid. Is there anything I can do to figure out what happened? I don't really care who gave this reference, and I can't think of anyone who works there who would do so. But it's driving me absolutely crazy that someone - i don't know who - said something - i don't know what - that prevented me from getting a job that was otherwise ideal, and was otherwise very much in progress.

What I'm concerned about is if there's a specific issue that I'm not aware of that I need to be correct, or if this is merely a personal issue. The company statement is that someone there who knew me stated that I "would not be a good fit for their environment."

It's a small tech community here, and the skill set I work with (mostly UNIX, Perl, and PHP) is comprised of even less people, so jobs that fit those requirements are few and far between. This environment seemed particularly ideal, so it does sting a bit. Especially when even getting a foot in the door these days seems so difficult.

I suppose my real questions are, is there any way to find out exactly what happened? Is it even worth it? And how in the world can I stop obsessing over his?

Reference me that recommendation, please.

ElectricBlue — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:43:54 -0800

How should I approach my professors for recommendation/reference letters for a job that doesn't yet exist? I'm trying to wrap my mind around the situation, but I can't quite figure out how to work everything out in a tidy manner. So... Hivemind to the rescue! :)

I'm a current senior in college. I'm spending my last semester abroad. My study abroad lasts from March until August. So while my friends are graduating and "hitting the pavement," I'll have a very late start in hunting for a job.

Alas, I don't know what job I'll go into after college. It'll hopefully be something creative--writing, graphic design, etc.--but that's all I know.

I've been staying on-campus for the past six weeks. But I'll be kicked out of the dorms on Sunday. (Literally: someone's moving in my room that following Monday!)

My problems:

1) I'm leaving campus this Sunday. This week could be the last time I ever see my professors.
2) I'd love some recommendation/reference letters for future jobs from my professors while I'm still fresh in their minds. The problem is, how can they write a letter without knowing what job I want?
2b) Should I ask for them to emphasize my character? Traits that are in both fields of graphic design and writing?
3) There's no way that they can complete a letter in the next few days. I was thinking of giving my professors a SASE addressed to my parents' house so that they can send the rec letters at their leisure. But is that the best idea?
4) Am I overthinking this? ;)

So, to summarize: I think that it would be a great idea to go ahead and get some rec/ref letters from my professors before I leave for a study abroad. That way, when I get back from Europe, I can immediately hunt for a job. But I'm leaving for Europe soon, and I have no idea what job I'll be hunting for.

If you have any advice, that'd be awesome. Thanks in advance!

I don't know why I can't think two steps ahead...

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:03:25 -0800

How do I get references for a second job (one I'd leave my current job for, not a concurrent one)? I swear this question has been asked before, but I can't find it! Please help.

I got my first professional job out of grad school (a thesis-based MS in engineering) with only my advisor as a reference. He did not find the job for me; I found it through a relative. I'm still here, but a couple of years later, I'm feeling a bit restless and even though my company is massive, most of its opportunities seem to be of the paper-pushing rather than actual engineering sort and I'd sort like to go elsewhere and see a different environment.

Problem: I can't let people at my current job know I'd like to look outside the company (particularly because my manager has stated my retention as one of his goals) and I'm being asked for work references. My internship and undergrad experiences were more than 6 years ago, and I've totally lost contact with my supervisors from then (what an idiot 19 year old I was)...

---(1A) Is it odd to use my MS advisor again as a reference 2.5 years out of grad school?
---(1B) If not, what's the best way to approach him for this, since things haven't changed much for me professionally in the past couple of years (no real updates needed) and I felt weird just emailing to say hello? I believe we got along well, and he would remember me without prompting since our department was small and he didn't get a ton of grad students, but our relationship was not as close as say, that of a PhD student and his advisor.
---(2) What should I do about a work reference for my current job? I have a coworker in another department, but the same office whom I would trust to keep quiet, and another couple of coworkers from my [small] group whom have moved elsewhere in the company, but we're all at the same authority and work level. Would these references highly frowned upon by future employers? I'd be happy to furnish a copy of my very positive annual review in lieu of a reference.
---(3) How can I force myself to be better about staying in touch with coworkers, advisors, etc so I can worry less about this in the future? I'm rather introverted, and I feel this has harmed me throughout my life, and will continue to do so if I don't take some good, measured action here.

Looking for Photos of Jewish Life in Eastern Europe

minicloud — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:53:45 -0800

I'm looking for photo references for a project I'm working on about Jewish life in Eastern Europe at the turn of the last century as well as the early Zionist movement in Israel (back before the 1948 war), including early kibbutz life. I'm sure there is a wealth of material out there, which ironically makes it harder to find what I'm looking for. How to sift through it all? Specifically I want to find photos that show daily life: what homes were like, how they were decorated, what average people wore.

Any help would be much appreciated! I'm working on a comic book and I want to make sure small details like this are correct in order to give a real sense of place/time. Thanks!

Can you recommend a concise offline digital encyclopedia?

jmstephan — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:18:01 -0800

I am seeking a digital enclyclopedia for offline use on my laptop, preferably something relatively concise, like a desk reference only digital. Of course there is the Dictionary program on my Macbook, but does anyone know of an encyclopedia-type counterpart?

Name these Zero Punctuation references

typography — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:50:22 -0800

In many of his reviews, Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation fame includes a picture of a white male and sometimes an asian male. Who are these people?

How do I recommend someone I have reservations about?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:09:24 -0800

How do I write a letter of reference for someone I previously supervised and am ambivalent about? A couple of years ago, I was in a supervisory position over a few people in a yearlong community-service program engaged in rather heavy-duty work. One of the people in my group (we'll call E) had a lot of problems, being often defiant, sometimes irresponsible, and an occasional headache. At the same time, E really took to the work when the going got tough and helped me out when I needed it. On balance: not a bad person.

Now, E is applying for an undergraduate program in social services and has recently asked me for a letter of recommendation. I said yes, partly because it was Christmastime and I was feeling magnanimous and partly because E was 18 when we worked together and I recognize that a lot of people just out of high school still have a lot of growing up to do...which I think E is doing. And an undergraduate program is not so high-stakes that I'd feel ethically disingenuous helping E get in; I'd previously refused to give a work reference for another member of the group who I felt truly didn't deserve one, so I didn't take the decision lightly.

Now I'm feeling uncertain. I can't back out (that would be shitty) and I don't want to write a tepid letter (that would be passive-aggressive and shitty), not to mention that E has asked me to send it direct to E's house...which I guess ups that chances that E will read it before sending it in.

So I guess my question is, how do I focus on the positive in order to crank this thing out?

How do I repair my relationship with my job reference?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:09:03 -0800

My grad school professor would be an important job reference, but I screwed up our relationship. How do I repair it? I was a research and teaching assistant to this professor and she spoke highly of me to others in the department. I graduated in May 2007 and she offered me a short-term project with her consulting company. I started it, and then a confluence of events happened (death of a close family member, moving out of state, relationship problems). I was overcome with depression and anxiety, and did not finish the project. Basically I left her and her client hanging. I didn't return phone calls or emails. I never charged them for any of the work (which was 80+ hours), and I don't know what happened to the project.

I was unemployed for six months and after several half-hearted attempts to find jobs in my field, I took an unrelated job that is frankly beneath me. I've been on medication for my mental health issues and am doing much better on that front. I really want to get back into my field, but I'm afraid I've burned my bridges with this professor, and I don't know how to approach the situation after all this time has passed.

She is a crucial reference for me because she is well-known in my field and well connected in my current city of residence. There are other professors that I could contact, but she has undoubtedly told them what happened (she told everyone when another TA became unreliable). I really did not network enough when I was in grad school, and I did a similar thing at an unpaid internship (disappeared and left them hanging) that also would have been a good reference. What can I do? This is paralyzing me with fear and stopping my job search.

Increase my Corporate Legal-fu!

lonefrontranger — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:35:50 -0800

CorporateLawFilter: Please recommend your best tips, tricks and reference materials for becoming the best paralegal-in-training possible. I was just hired as legal assistant to the senior partner of a pharmaceuticals manufacturing site. We are a department of two, doing primarily corporate/contracts legal, plus a steady dose of IP and patents stuff, and my boss is an amazingly good mentor. He tends to delegate responsibility as I prove capable of it, and he says he needs his admin to be a smart independent thinker who can work unsupervised when necessary and call him on mistakes when he misses stuff (which isn't often).

I have been doing this job on a temp/fill-in basis for the past six months, mainly just keeping afloat on our vanilla confidentiality agreements stuff. Now that I'm no longer a contractor, Boss (and rightfully so) is really raising the bar because he's got a huge workload. He needs, and expects me to become, his Contracts, Patents & Agreements Padawan. The challenge is, while I'm a really good secretary and a damn good document wrangler, I know jack about contract / corporate law, beyond the most basic of proofreading skills. He'll throw odd stuff over the wall to me when he's ultra busy, like asking me to come up with a (very) rough draft of a cease and desist letter from scratch when he's too busy/fried to switch gears and think about the language it needs. This is the sort of thing I need to get better at quickly.

I really want and need to kick ass at this job, not to mention make my boss proud, and ultimately (please god) stay here for the rest of my foreseeable future, complete with stability and benefits and stuff I don't get from being the Eternal Temp. Not to mention that this guy went out on a pretty skinny limb to insist on hiring me, as I've no formal education and next to zero prior contracts/legal experience. BigPharmaCo is footing the bill to send me through a paralegal course, which will absolutely help, however it's going to take some time to get that accomplished, and I need to hit the ground running.

My boss' new-hire/early Christmas present to me was a big, shiny, unabridged Black's Law Dictionary, and I've immediately begun using it... I can already tell that it's going to be indispensable. I have been given permission to order any other reference books I might need on the company dime, so there's a place to start.

Please share any other tips, techniques and/or reference materials that any of you corporate partners and/or bona fide paralegals out there recommend to increase my Corporate/Contracts/Patents Legal-fu.

What are some good pda's for medicine and programs for them

phllip.phillip — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:20:56 -0800

My sister is completing a course to become a paramedic and i really wanted to get her something special. She is asking for an EMS pocket field book. But I want to give her something more rigorous. I would like to get her an electronic one, like doctors use I would wholly appreciate suggestions as to which palm pilot or pocket pc or... and software I should buy.