Exporting your data
You can export the citation data from Publish or Perish to the following formats:
- BibTeX - a generally used format for bibliographic references, based on the TeX typesetting program and LaTeX macros.
- CSV - a comma-separated values format accepted by most databases and spreadsheets.
- EndNote Import - a data exchange format for use with the EndNote program from Thomson.
- ISI Export - a data exchange format produced by Thomson's ISI/Web of Science export function
- RefMan/RIS - a data exchange format used by a variety of reference managers, including Reference Manager.
The general procedure is as follows:
- In the results pane, check the citation lines that you want to export. By default, all lines are checked and thus exported.
- If desired, click on the column headers to sort the data in the desired order. The sort is stable, which means that you can sort by multiple columns by clicking them in succession, but in reverse order. (For example, to sort primarily by author, secondary by year, and tertiary by publication, click on Publication, then on Year, then on Authors.)
- Choose File > Save As xxx from the main menu, where 'xxx' is the desired export format.
Below are the details of each format as Publish or Perish implements them. This is for reference only; in general you do not need to know these details if you are exchanging the data with other software that recognises at least one of these formats.
Note: To export your data to a Publish or Perish data archive, use the Export to Archive command.
BibTeX format details
The BibTeX format is defined in a variety of locations with varying level of detail; we have used BibTeX.org and Wikipedia.
Publish or Perish writes all BibTeX format files as plain text Unicode files, encoded as UTF-8 with the UTF-8 BOM (0xEF 0xBB 0xBF) at the start of the file. As of Publish or Perish version 2.2, if a field contains embedded '\' or '&' characters, they are escaped by prefixing them with another '\' to avoid misinterpretation as commands or control codes.
For each citation entry, Publish or Perish creates one of the following BibTeX entries:
| BibTeX entry | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| @article | Journal articles | Used if the Publication field is present. |
| @book | Book | Used if the Publication field is empty, but the Publisher field is present. |
| @misc | Various | Used if none of the above applies. |
For each BibTeX entry, Publish or Perish generates a citation key in the format popxxxx and then uses the following subset of the available BibTeX tags:
| Tag | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| type | Publication type | [4.0.7 and later] Set to the type of publication, or left out if the type is unknown |
| author | Author names | Set to the Authors field of the entry. If the field contains more than one author, Publish or Perish inserts " and " between names as per BibTeX requirements. |
| title | Title | Set to the Title field of the entry. |
| journal | Journal name | Set to the Publication field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| publisher | Publisher | Set to the Publisher field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| url | URL | Set to the (hidden) ArticleURL field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| year | Date | Set to the Year field of the entry is present, else omitted. |
| note | Notes | Set to x cites: CitationsURL if the entry has one or more citations, else omitted. |
| note | Notes | Set to Query date: date in the format YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601 date). |
CSV format details
The CSV (Comma Separated Value) format is a defacto format defined by various sources; see for example this Wikipedia entry. Publish or Perish applies all required transformations: quotes around fields that contain embedded spaces or commas, quote doubling for fields with embedded quotes, etc.
To import a CSV file into Microsoft Excel, Access, OpenOffice Calc, or similar programs, choose the following settings in the receiving program:
- File type: Text CSV, or Comma Separated Value, depending on the receiving program
- Character set: Unicode (UTF-8)
- Separated by: Comma (only; uncheck any other separators)
- Text delimiter: " (i.e., the straight double quote)
Publish or Perish writes all CSV format files as plain text Unicode files, encoded as UTF-8 with the UTF-8 BOM (0xEF 0xBB 0xBF) at the start of the file. The first line in the file lists the fields; the remaining lines contain the citation entries, one per line. Missing fields result in an empty CSV field "". The following field names are used:
| Tag | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cites | Number of citations | Set to the Cites field of the entry. |
| Authors | Author names | Set to the Authors field of the entry. |
| Title | Title | Set to the Title field of the entry. |
| Year | Year of publication | Set to the Year field of the entry. |
| Source | Journal name | Set to the Publication field of the entry. |
| Publisher | Publisher | Set to the Publisher field of the entry. |
| ArticleURL | URL | Set to the (hidden) ArticleURL field of the entry. |
| CitesURL | Notes | Set to the (hidden) CitationsURL field of the entry. |
| GSRank | Google Scholar ranking | Set to the Rank field of the entry. This is simply the order in which Google Scholar returned the results (1=first, 2=second, etc.). Typically, earlier ranked entries indicate more relevant query results. |
| QueryDate | Query date | Formatted as the date of the query in the format YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601 date). |
| Type | Publication type | [4.0.7 and later] Set to the type of publication, or empty if the type is unknown |
EndNote Import format details
The EndNote Import data exchange format is defined by Thomson ResearchSoft for use by its EndNote program, among others; the format specification can be found in the help file of EndNote itself.
Publish or Perish writes all EndNote Import format files as plain text Unicode files, encoded as UTF-8 with the UTF-8 BOM (0xEF 0xBB 0xBF) at the start of the file. There is no maximum line length; each field is written on a single line.
Publish or Perish uses the following subset of the available EndNote Import tags:
| Tag | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| %0 | Type of entry | Set to the type of publication if known, else to Journal Article if the Publication field is present, else to Book. |
| %A | Author names | Publish or Perish generates one %A line per author in the Authors field. |
| %T | Title | Set to the Title field of the entry. |
| %B | Book title | Set to the Publication field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| %I | Publisher | Set to the Publisher field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| %U | URL | Set to the (hidden) ArticleURL field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| %D | Date | Set to the Year field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| %1 | Miscellaneous | Set to x cites: CitationsURL if the entry has one or more citations, else omitted. |
| %1 | Miscellaneous | Set to Query date: date in the format YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601 date). |
ISI/Web of Science format details
The ISI/Web of Science data exchange format is used by Thomson's Web of Science export function. We have not been able to find an official definition, but have used information from the Ruby Forge web site instead.
Publish or Perish writes all ISI/Web of Science format files as plain text Unicode files, encoded as UTF-8 with the UTF-8 BOM (0xEF 0xBB 0xBF) at the start of the file. The maximum line length for most fields is 77 characters; if the field plus the preceding tag is longer than that, indented continuation lines are used except for the AU tag (which always uses one tagged line for the first author and indented continuation lines for any further authors, without length restrictions) and the UR tag.
Publish or Perish uses the following subset of the available ISI/Web of Science tags:
| Tag | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FN | Format name | Set to ISI Export Format (only once, at the start of the file) |
| VR | Version | Set to 1.0 (only once, at the start of the file) |
| PT | Type of entry | Set to the first letter of the publication type if known, else to J if the Publication field is present, else to B. |
| AU | Author names | Publish or Perish generates an AU line for the first author and indented continuation lines for any further authors in the Authors field. It also reformats each author's name as LastName, Initials as required by the ISI/WoS usage. Because the Google Scholar authors list is not always 100% accurate, this may occasionally lead to misinterpreted names. |
| TI | Title | Set to the Title field of the entry. |
| SO | Source name | Set to the Publication field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| PU | Publisher | Set to the Publisher field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| UR | URL | Set to the (hidden) ArticleURL field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| PY | Publication year | Set to Year if the Year field of the entry is present, else omitted. |
| TC | Times cited | Set to the value of the Cites field if the entry has one or more citations, else omitted. |
| ER | End of record | Marks the end of the entry |
| EF | End of file | Marks the end of the file (only once, at the end of the file) |
RefMan/RIS format details
The RIS data exchange format is defined by Thomson ResearchSoft for use by its Reference Manager and EndNote programs, among others; their web site contains the official definition.
Publish or Perish writes all RIS format files as plain text Unicode files, encoded as UTF-8 with the UTF-8 BOM (0xEF 0xBB 0xBF) at the start of the file. There is no maximum line length; each field is written on a single line.
Publish or Perish uses the following subset of the available RIS tags:
| Tag | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| TY | Type of entry | Set to publication type if known, else to JOUR if the Publication field is present, else to BOOK. |
| AU | Author names | Publish or Perish generates one AU line per author in the Authors field. It also reformats each author's name as LastName, Initials as required by the RIS specification. Because the Google Scholar authors list is not always 100% accurate, this may occasionally lead to misinterpreted names. |
| TI | Title | Set to the Title field of the entry. |
| JF | Periodical name | Set to the Publication field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| PB | Publisher | Set to the Publisher field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| UR | URL | Set to the (hidden) ArticleURL field of the entry if present, else omitted. |
| PY | Date | Set to Year/// if the Year field of the entry is present, else omitted. The trailing "///" characters are required by the RIS date format specification. |
| M1 | Miscellaneous | Set to Query date: date in the format YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601 date). |
| M1 | Miscellaneous | Set to x cites: CitationsURL if the entry has one or more citations, else omitted. |
| N1 | Notes | Set to Cited By (since yyyy): x if the entry has one or more citations, else omitted. This is for compatibility with Scopus' export format. |
| ER | End of record | Marks the end of the entry |
| Versions of Publish or Perish prior to 4.0.1 used slightly different tags for some fields: | ||
| A1 | Author names | Used for each author in the Authors field. As of 4.0.1, the equivalent AU tag is used instead. |
| T1 | Title | Used for the Title field. As of 4.0.1, the equivalent TI tag is used instead. |
| T2 | Secondary title | Used for the Publication field. As of 4.0.1, the more appropriate JF tag is used instead. |
| Y1 | Date | Used for the Year field (as Year///). As of 4.0.1, the equivalent PY tag is used instead. |