Using RefWorks
Connecting to RefWorks
§ From the Library’s home page (http://biblio.uottawa.ca), click “RefWorks” from the Top Links
PART A
Creating a RefWorks account
§ Click “Sign Up for a New Account” and complete the form (a confirmation e-mail will be sent with your login name and password)
§ Note – If you already have an account, simply login
PART B
Building your personal database of references
There are 3 ways to add references to your personal database:
1. Using direct export features available in many databases
2. Importing references from within RefWorks
3. Adding references manually
Method 1 – Direct export from databases
§ For the following exercise, use the EconLit database
§ Open another tab or window in your browser and go to the Library’s home page
§ Select the link to Databases A-Z from the Top Links
§ Click the letter E and then select EconLit
§ Do a search using the words energy and oil and Canad*
§ From the list of results, mark some of them by clicking the check box next to each result
§ When you have finished selecting articles, scroll over the Export/Save option at the top of the list of results and click RefWorks
§ Click Continue
Your selected results should automatically be imported within your RefWorks account
§ Note – RefWorks recommends that you always double-check a few references once they have been imported to verify accuracy and completeness
Method 2 – Importing references from within RefWorks
This method requires additional steps to download references. Instructions vary from database to database.
§ For the following exercise, use the library catalogue (classic version)
§ Open another tab or window in your browser and go to the Library’s home page
§ Click Classic Catalogue under the main search box
§ Click on Advanced search
§ Perform a keyword search by typing in (separate rows): Canad* | economics | oil petroleum | energy
§ Click Save for a selection of results and click View Saved at the top
§ Under “Format Of List”, select End-Note/RefWorks and, under “Send List To”, select Local Disk
§ Click Submit and save the “export.txt” file to the My Documents folder or to the Desktop
§ Return to the other tab or window (with your RefWorks account) and from the References menu, select Import
§ From the “Import Filter/Data Source” drop-down menu, select University of Ottawa
§ From the “Database” drop-down menu, select Catalogue (uOttawa)
§ Click Browse to locate the “export.txt” file from your computer
§ From the “Encoding” drop-down menu, select UTF-8
§ Click Import to complete
§ Note – RefWorks recommends that you always double-check a few references once they have been imported in order to verify accuracy and completeness
PART C
Creating folders and placing references in folders
§ Select New Folder at the top of the screen
§ Enter a name for your new folder and click Create
§ Repeat steps to create additional folders, if necessary (note, it is possible to create a hierarchy by clicking on Create Subfolder)
§ From the View menu, select the All References option
§ Select relevant references and scroll over the “Add to folder” icon
§ In the Folders section on the right, click on the newly created folder to view recently added references
§ Repeat steps to organize references in additional folders, if necessary
Customizing your account
The following options are customizable and enhance the usability of RefWorks.
§ Click Customize in the top right corner to begin
Reference list options
§ References per page – change the limit to view more or less references on a page
§ Output style choice for reference view – very useful feature that allows you to change the default view from your account to your preferred style (this is helpful to spot any errors or missing information)
Startup options
§ View folder – determine which folder is visible after logging in
User field options
§ User field names – 15 user fields are available; you can rename these if you are working on a collaborative project, for instance
Preparing bibliographies
§ From within your RefWorks account, scroll over Bibliography from the top menu and click Create Bibliography
§ Choose which references or folder to use
§ Select an Output Style from the drop-down menu
§ Select HTML from the “File Type” drop-down menu (other options include text, rich text format, Word for Windows or for Mac, OpenOffice)
§ Click Create Bibliography
§ Note – Verify the accuracy of any bibliography or list of references created with RefWorks
Sharing references
Sharing references with colleagues can be useful. If they have a RefWorks account, they can then import shared references in their account.
§ Click the Organize & Share Folders tab
§ Click next to the folder you want to share
§ Click Share from the pop-up window
§ From the “Shared Folder Options” pop-up window, you can set the following:
§ Share Information – title and description
§ Share Options – RSS feeds
§ Limitations – what others can do with the references
§ Output Style Options – what styles others can use
§ Fields to share – exclude fields, if necessary
§ Click Save
§ Once completed, click next to the shared folder to view sharing options
PART D
Using Write-N-Cite
The following steps are helpful for using the Write-N-Cite 4 plug-in for Microsoft Word (on Windows). A version for Mac is also available (instructions are provided within RefWorks).
Downloading and installing Write-N-Cite
§ From the Tools menu in RefWorks, select Write-N-Cite
§ A pop-up window will open
§ Download and install Write-N-Cite (make sure that Word is closed)
§ After the installation, open Word and click RefWorks to display the ribbon
§ Click Login
§ Enter the Login Code (found within RefWorks)
OR
Enter the Group Code (RWUOTTAWA), your username and password
§ Write-N-Cite will then download your references and sync your account
§ All greyed out option in the RefWorks ribbon will then be visible and active
Using Write-N-Cite
§ Open Microsoft Word and begin writing a document
§ Click RefWorks from within Word to display the RefWorks ribbon
§ Start by choosing a style using the drop-down menu
§ Begin writing your document
§ Click Insert Citation to insert in your Word document
§ Choose the appropriate folder to view references
§ Find and click the reference you want to insert
§ You can view a preview of the citation according to the chosen style
§ You can edit the reference accordingly by hiding the year or the author, or by adding a prefix or suffix
§ You can also add more than one reference at the same time by selecting another one from the Folder List or Reference List
§ Click OK to insert in your document
§ Continue writing your document and inserting references where appropriate
§ When finished, click Bibliography Options in the RefWorks ribbon
§ Click Insert Bibliography
§ Note – Verify the accuracy of any list of references created with RefWorks
For more information
· RefWorks at the University of Ottawa
http://uottawa.ca.libguides.com/refworks_en
· RefWorks detailed Help pages
http://refworks.scholarsportal.info/refworks2/help/RefWorks2.htm
· Send an e-mail to
Last updated: 2015-02-12
Author Patrick Labelle, with minor adaptations by Susan Mowers