Frequently Asked Questions About RefWorks
- What is RefWorks?
- How do I create an accout?
- How do I access RefWorks from on campus?
- How do I access RefWorks from off campus?
- What is a Group Code?
- What is the difference between RefWorks & EndNote?
- How do I import from Endnote or other bibliographic management tools?
- How do I import citations from library databases or the Library Catalog into RefWorks?
- What if the database I need to use is not included in the RefWorks filters?
- When I try to export citations from a database to RefWorks, nothing happens. What do I do?
- How can I export my bibliographic information?
- Where are my RefWorks bibliographies stored?
- Is there a limit to the size of my database?
- Is there a limit to the data I can put in the notes and abstract fields?
- My data doesn't always import correctly. What can I do?
- Why does my bibliography have incorrect data included in the output document?
- How do I import my RefWorks citations from EndNote, ProCite, or Reference Manager?
- How do I export my RefWorks citations to EndNote?
- What is Write-and-Cite?
- Can I open two accounts in RefWorks at the same time?
- Can a RefWorks account be shared by a group?
- How do I back up my citations?
- I want to write my paper off line and refer to citations in RefWorks. How do I print out a list of references with RefIDs?
- What happens when I graduate or leave Willamette and no longer have access to RefWorks and my data?
- What is RefGrab-It?
- How do I create a bibliography from a longer paper (if the system times out)?
- How can I get help with RefWorks?
- What is RefWorks?
Refworks is a citation management tool. It collects, stores, and organizes citations from books, articles, web sites, databases, and other sources. RefWorks converts citations into properly formatted bibliographies in numerous styles. Users can insert citations into Word documents & easily create bibliographies. Willamette students, faculty and staff can set up their own accounts. See the FAQs for details.
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- How do I create an account?
Go to the library's homepage library.willamette.edu. Click on RefWorks under the Research Tools section (at the bottom of the page). Click "Sign up for an Individual Account" and fill out the form.
Note: You must be on the Willamette campus to sign up for a new account. After you create an account, RefWorks will email you the username and password you created. Please keep this email. It will also include information about a group code for off campus access. Once you have set up your account, you then are able to access RefWorks anywhere on or off campus with an internet connection.
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- How do I access RefWorks from on campus?
Go to the library's homepage library.willamette.edu. Click on RefWorks under the Research Tools section at the bottom of the page and login. You can also type in Refworks.com and login.
Please note that you must create an account before you access RefWorks on or off campus.
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- How do I access RefWorks from off campus?
Go to the library's homepage library.willamette.edu. Click on RefWorks under the Research Tools section (at the bottom of the page). You will be prompted for you Willamette ID & password, which will recognize you as coming from Willamette. You can then type in your RefWorks login & password. Please note that you must create an account before you access RefWorks on or off campus.
Alternatively, you can go directly to RefWorks.com, click login, and enter Willamette's Group Code.
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- What is Willamette's Group Code?
Willamette's Group Code allows RefWork to identify you as a member of the Willamette Community. If you are prompted for Willamette's Group Code, it can be found in the email you received after creating an account. You can also contact Willamette's RefWorks administrator at jrepplin@willamette.edu, or the Hatfield Library Reference Service by phone, email or IM.
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- What is the difference between RefWorks & EndNote?
RefWorks & EndNote are both citation managers and do much the same thing. Think of EndNote as desktop software that is purchased for one computer with one license. All of your citations are saved essentially on that one computer--you can not access your citations from anywhere else (& hopefully they are backed up else from this one computer). With EndNote, you can work off line and you do not require an Internet connection.
RefWorks is an Internet-based resource. It requires an Internet connection, and all of the citation info is saved online. You would have to download your citations on your laptop or flashdrive before accessing your citations without an Internet connection or RefWorks. However, you can access your citations from any computer with an internet connection. Since it is Internet based, it works with any computer: PC, Mac or Linux.
You can also share citations with other people in RefWorks. For example, if you were co-writing an article, you could email citations to your colleague. You can even create another account that multiple parties can access, or share folders within your personal account with other RefWork Users.
With RefWorks, you can also insert citations into a Word Document while you write. There are hundreds of citation styles, many of which are journal-specific, including all of the main citation styles (e.g. APA, Chicago, MLA). Unlike EndNote, RefWorks allows you to customize citation styles, so you can tweak a citation style to your needs or make up your own citation style!
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- How do I import from Endnote or other bibliographic management tools?
To import records from EndNote, save your Endnote libraries or entire database as text files in RIS format:
· In EndNote, go to the the Edit menu and select Output Styles and Open Style Manger. Click in the RefMan (RIS) Export checkbox. Close the Style Manager, go back to Edit, Output Styles, and select RefMan (RIS) Export from the pulldown menu.
· Highlight the references you want to export. Under the Reference menu select Show Selected (or Show All if you wish to export the entire database).
· Under the File menu select Export.
· In the dialog box that appears, name your file and navigate to a location where you want to save your text file. Select Text as your Save As type and click Save.
· Go to RefWorks and select the Import under the References menu.
· In the Import Filter/Data Source pulldown menu, select Desktop Biblio. Mgt. Software. In the Database menu, select EndNote. Use the Browse button to navigate to the text file you saved from EndNote and select it.
· Click on Import.
To import records from Reference Manager or Procite, see the online help.
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- How do I import citations from library databases or the Library Catalog into RefWorks?
Some databases allow you to export your selected citations directly into your RefWorks account. Otherwise, you can save your search results as text file (.txt) on any of your local drives. Then in RefWorks, select Import under the References menu; then select Innovative Interfaces INNOPAC as the import filter along with Portland State University - VIKAT (Full Display) as the database you searched, and import the file. For detailed information about importing from different databases, see Database Import Instructions and/or "Import Overview" from the RefWorks site.
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- What if the database I need to use is not included in the RefWorks filters?
Refworks contains filters for many databases and information vendors. However, if you do not find a filter for a particular database, you may request that RefWorks create one for your database. While logged into your RefWorks account, click on "Request Filter/Format" in the Import screen. Keep in mind that it may not always be possible to create a filter for a particular database. This decision is usually that of the database vendor and not RefWorks.
You can always add records manually by clicking References and Add New Reference.
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- When I try to export citations from a database to RefWorks, nothing happens. What do I do?
See if the popup window blocker is set on your browser. To do so in Netscape, go to Edit - Preferences - Privacy and Security - Popup Windows and see if the blocker is set. If set, you can add www.refworks.com as an allowed site. If you've added the Google toolbar to Internet Explorer, the popup blocker may be set. Select Options. Go to Accessories - Options and turn off the Popup Blocker. If you use Fire Fox, click the popup blocker bar that appears at the top of the screen & click Allow, then try to import again. You can also click on the Tools option, select Options, and select the Content tab. You should be able to add RefWorks.com to your Popup Blocker.
If you continue to have problems with exporting citations to RefWorks, you may want to save your citations as text and use RefWorks to import (See #8).
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- How can I export my bibliographic information?
You may export all or some of your bibliographic information into another bibliographic management program such as EndNote (see question 14, below, for details), a comma-delimited file, or as a text or Word file (e.g. a formatted bibliography or citation list). You may also export your citations in RefWorks format, in order to share them with another RefWorks user who can then import the citations into their RefWorks account.
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- Where are my RefWorks bibliographies stored?
Your bibliographic information is stored on the RefWorks server.
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- Is there a limit to the size of my database?
No. Your database may contain an unlimited number of references.
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- Is there a limit to the data I can put in the notes and abstract fields?
The notes, abstract, and user definable fields are limited to 1 gigabyte of information. Note that by adding large amounts of data to these fields, the program takes more time to display each reference.
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- My data doesn't always import correctly. What can I do?
Make sure the data you are trying to import is in a tagged format. For example:
TI: Title
Reforming the circle: fragments of the social history of a vernacular African dance form.
AU: Author
James, Wendy
AF: AuthorAffiliation
Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford
SO: Source
Journal of African Cultural Studies; Jun2000, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p140, 13p
Go to the Import area of RefWorks and ensure that both the Import Filter/Data Source and Database have been selected correctly. If you don't see either All Databases or the specific database you are searching in the drop down list, we do not have a filter for that particular database. In this case the data may still import but it may not be imported into the correct fields and the source information will all go into the notes field. Selecting Multiple Databases will not work if the specific database you are importing is not in the list. If you selected the correct Data Source and Database but the data still comes in incorrectly, please contact the RefWorks support department at support@refworks.com. Attach a sample of the text file you are importing along with information on the source of the data.
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- Why does my bibliography have incorrect data included in the output document?
The output format takes the data from a particular field and inserts it into the bibliography. If the data in the field is incorrect it will appear to be wrong in the output format. For instance, you may see a book title that has [Monograph] after it. Journal titles may also show an extra tag regarding volume numbers. The problem may be with the way the data is imported rather than with the output format. Always check that the data in the database is correct before formatting a bibliography. If it is incorrect, you may edit the data yourself.
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- How do I import my RefWorks citations from EndNote, ProCite, or Reference Manager?
Step by step instructions are available from RefWorks.
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- How do I export my RefWorks citations to EndNote?
From RefWorks, go to the References menu and select Export.
Choose the Bibliographic Software option and save the file to your computer
In EndNote, go to the File menu and select Import.
Locate the file and for "import option" choose "Reference Manager RIS."
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- What is Write-and-Cite?
Write-N-Cite allows Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer users to run an abbreviated version of RefWorks in a paper or manuscript. It also automatically formats internal references and bibliographies. Only author, title, and year are displayed; a full-view option is also available. The utility installs a Write-N-Cite icon on your desktop as well as an Add-in to your Word toolbar and a menu option under Tools for launching Write-N-Cite. Click here for more information about Write-N-Cite, or to download the Write-N-Cite utility program to your computer.
If you are not able to use Write-N-Cite, you can still insert references and a bibliography into your paper:
Once the paper is written and you're ready to insert a reference, login to RefWorks. Click on One line/Cite View at the top of your reference list. Click the Cite link next to the reference you want to insert. The Citation Viewer window will pop up. Click Select Citation. Go to the Edit Menu and choose Copy. Go to your paper. Click where you want to insert the reference. Go to the Edit Menu and choose Paste. Make sure to go back to the Citation Viewer and select Clear after the reference is inserted. When you have finished inserting all references, save and close your paper. To generate your bibliography, click the Bibliography button in RefWorks. Choose the citation format (e.g., MLA, APA) from the Output Format pull down menu. Select Base Bibliography on Manuscript. Use the Browse button to find and select your paper. RefWorks will automatically add your references and bibliography.
To download Write-N-Cite to your computer:
1. Go to www.refworks.com
2. Choose "User Login" in the upper right corner.
3. Then choose "Login using Group Code" just under the login boxes.
4. Type in the Group Code.
5. Log in to your account using your username and password.
6. Choose the "Write-N-Cite" option on the "Tools" Menu.
7. On the next screen choose the appropriate version of Write-N-Cite for your operating system.
8. Click "Open" and follow the installation instructions.
Note: MacIntosh users will need to download Stuff-It Expander from Apple to install Write-N-Cite into Microsoft Word.
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- Can I open two accounts in RefWorks at the same time?
Yes. Open your browser a second time by selecting it from the Program menu or by clicking on the icon on your desktop or task bar. [Do not open another window by selecting File, New, Window --this will only re-open the first RefWorks account.]
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- Can a RefWorks account be shared by a group?
Yes. An individual may create more than one account using the same email address, but with different usernames and passwords for each account. This can be useful when working on group projects. The username and password can be shared with other members of the group for one of the accounts. Each member can then log in to that RefWorks account to add, organize, or delete information. During the process, each group member can utilize the bibliographic resources from the group folder and then use RefWorks to format the bibliography according to the preferred style.
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- How do I back up my citations?
Select the Backup/Restore link under the References menu. Select Include References (for the database) and/or Include Output Styles (for outputs). Click on Perform Backup. Save the file when prompted. It should be saved as a .zip file. Please do not change the extension of the file as it is necessary to restore if you need to do so later. Although RefWorks backs up all databases on a regular basis, we recommend users do this as well.You may also export your references to a text file as a back up measure by choosing Export under the References menu.
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- I want to write my paper off line. How do I print out a list of
references with RefIDs?
Create a folder and add all of the references you'll need for the paper. Next, Click on Export and select the folder to be printed. Select Citation List (which includes the refID, author, title, and year). Click Export to Text File. Once the file displays, use the browser's Print function to print the paper.
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- What happens when I graduate or leave Willamette and no longer have
access to RefWorks and my data?
Note that if you go to another college or university, they may also have a RefWorks subscription. If not, you can purchase an individual subscription to RefWorks for $70 per year. Or if you prefer, you can export your entire database in a format that is compatible with other bibliographic software. You can also export the data in a delimited format to use in some other type of database program. To purchase your own RefWorks subscription, simply contact RefWorks and they will inform you of the billing procedures. In advance of this transition, RefWorks also recommends doing a "backup" of your database, and then a "restore" to your new account. (For details, see FAQ# 22, above.) This will bring all folders, references, reference IDs and any custom output styles, so your new account will be exactly the same as their old account when you backed it up. You can also create your new account in the 30-day free trial area and RefWorks will just convert it behind the scenes to an individual subscription once payment information has been received.
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- What is RefGrab-It?
RefGrab-It is a program that captures basic Bibiographic Information about Websites and allows their import into RefWorks. RefGrab-It must be installed on your computer before it can be used. Installation instructions are located here and help instructions are located here.
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- How do I create a bibliography from a longer paper
if the system times out)?
Go directly to RefWorks.com and log back in again.
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- How can I get help with RefWorks?
Willamette University Reference Staff
Ask a Librarian Services
RefWorks Online Help
RefWorks Tutorial from the RefWorks website.
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