RefWorks: Getting Started at Colgate
What is RefWorks?
RefWorks is citation software offered by the Colgate University Libraries to all Colgate students, faculty and staff.
It is a Web-based bibliography and database manager that allows you to create your own personal database by importing references from text files or online databases, including Colgate’s Library Catalog. You can use these references in writing papers and automatically format the bibliography in seconds.
RefWorks enables you to:
- Organize your research
- Build a bibliography in a variety of formats
- Import references from many data sources,
- Create bibliographies in different document formats (Word, RTF, HTML, etc.)
- Include citations while you write your paper using Write-N-Cite
The Colgate Libraries have a site license to RefWorks, and there is no cost to individual Colgate users. To register for your account you must be logged in to the Colgate network. Once registered, you can use the account from anywhere in the world. Please use your Colgate University email address when registering.
As a Web-based product, RefWorks is available across various platforms including Windows, Mac, Unix, etc. Your RefWorks databases are stored on the Web and can be accessed by you from anywhere you can access the Web. If accessing RefWorks from outside the campus network, you may be prompted for a group code as well as your ID and Password. You can get the group code for Colgate University from Reference if needed.
Getting Started
You can log on to RefWorks from the library homepage. The first time you log on you'll need to set up a RefWorks account.
Access Refworks
New users should click on the link at the top of the login box
"sign up for a new account"
Once you've registered, RefWorks will send you an email confirming your ID and Password. You can now access RefWorks from either on campus or elsewhere.
To learn to use RefWorks, once registered, log in and click on the HELP tab on the RefWorks banner at the top of the page and choose TUTORIAL. The tutorials are excellent and highly recommended.
Creating A RefWorks Database
To save citations into RefWorks, you must first open your RefWorks account. There are four ways that you can save citations into RefWorks:
It is always a good idea to review the records after importing them as, on occasion, data will map inaccurately and will be in an incorrect format - author will not be last name first - or into the "wrong" field - journal title will be in the notes field. Also, users should review the REF TYPE of each record since the formatting in citations or bibliographies will not be correct unless the matching REF TYPE has been selected.
Direct Import from Databases
The following database providers allow you to export data directly from the database to RefWorks:
Instructions for some are found by selecting the link or using the help file on RefWorks, under "Getting references into your account" look for "Importing from online data vendors."
- Colgate University Libraries Classic or Encore Catalog
- ARTstor
- Cambridge University Press
- EBSCOhost
- GaleGroup
- Google Scholar
- Hein Online
- ISI Web of Knowledge (Science, Social Science, Arts and Humanities Citation Indexes, Biological Abstracts)
- Lexis-Nexis
- Paratext
- Periodicals Abstract Online (see Chadwyck-Healey)
- Project Muse (Johns Hopkins U Press Journals Div)
- Proquest
- NewsBank
- Worldcat (OCLC FirstSearch)
L'Annee Philologique (American Philological Association) also supports direct export, select records, select save, change destination to Refworks.
Importing Data from Saved .TXT or .RIS Files
References can be imported into RefWorks from a .txt or .ris file by saving the references and then using the IMPORT feature located under the REFERENCES tab on the right hand side of the RefWorks banner. To make it easy to find the file, you may want to save it on the Desktop.
Save data to .txt or .ris files before importing to RefWorks when using the following databases, some resources have RefWorks help file directions:
- ACM
- American Chemical Society Chemical Abstracts Srvc.
- Assoc. of Asian Studies
- BioOne
- Cambridge University Press
- GaleGroup
- Google Scholar
- Ingenta
- JSTOR
- NewsBank
- OECD
- Proquest
- PubMed
- Worldcat (OCLC FirstSearch)
Africabib.org, Britannica, International Medieval Database (Brepols), Oxford University Press (some Oxford resources offer reference transfer, others do not), and Walter de Gruyter Reference Global - use the importing from text file method but do not have a custom help entry.
Manually entering the references into RefWorks
When using the providers not on the RefWorks help file you will need to manually enter references.
Write-N-Cite to insert formatted citations directly into your papers
Write-N-Cite is an add-on to Microsoft Word, available for both PC and Macintosh. The current release of Write-N-Cite (version 4) is NOT recommended due to performance and technical issues. The Libraries and ITS have installed version 3 on all the public computers. To install Write-N-Cite on your home computer select the PREVIOUS VERSIONS link under the download. The only exception to this recommendation is for Macintosh computers running an OS of 10.7 or higher as the earlier installers will not run.
To install Write-N-Cite on your personal computer:
- Sign into your RefWorks account.
- From the banner choose TOOLS, select Write-N-Cite
- From the pop-up box choose Write-N-Cite for either Windows or Mac
- Choose PREVIOUS VERSIONS (See illustrations with arrows below)
- Download the executable file.
- Install the program.
- Start or Restart Microsoft Office, Write-N-Cite will be under "Add-Ins" on PC.
- You will be prompted to sign in to your RefWorks account.
