@ EMU

Connect to RefWorks
(After you have registered for an individual account below)

RefWorks is a web-based bibliographic management service that can not only store and organize the references you collect in the course of your research, but can also format bibliographies according to many different style rules, such as those from the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA). While you can enter references into RefWorks manually, in most cases references can be imported into RefWorks from electronic databases, either directly or from saved text files. No (or minimal) typing! All your references are stored on the RefWorks server, so you can access them from any location with an Internet connection. The EMU Graduate School and the University Library have together purchased a one year subscription to the service.

Register for an Individual RefWorks Account BEFORE Using the Service

To use Refworks you must first set up a individual account.

• Click on this Refworks account setup link
• Fill out the form and then click on Register

You can use any username and password that are easy for you to remember. It is not advisable to use your My.Emich username and password. (NOTE: If you are using this link from off campus, you will first see a screen that asks you to login with your My.Emich username and password. After you successfully do that, you will be prompted to create a RefWorks account. Again, it is not advisable to use your My.Emich username and password for this account. Use another username/password combination that is easy for you to remember.)

After you register, you will receive from RefWorks a confirming email message that contains your Login Name, your Password, and a Subscriber Group Code. Save this email message! When using RefWorks from off-campus, you will often be prompted to enter the Subscriber Group Code before entering your Login Name and Password.

Connecting to RefWorks (After Your One-Time Registration)

• Use this link to connect to RefWorks after you set up a personal account.

Quick Start Guide, Video/Print Tutorials & Online Help Pages (from RefWorks.com)

• Quick Start Guide (PDF format - Requires Adobe Reader)
• Collection of short video and print tutorials on different components of RefWorks
• Logging into RefWorks (1:26 minutes)
• Navigating Around RefWorks (2:02 minutes)
• Getting Your References Into RefWorks (:12 seconds)
• Direct Import from an Online Database (3:19 minutes)
• Importing Saved Text Files (6:25 minutes)
• Entering References Manually (3:15 minutes)
• Searching Your RefWorks Database (1:05 minutes)
• Organizing Your References (3:00 minutes)
• Building Your Bibliography (:51 seconds)
• Format Bibliography from a List of References (2:32 minutes)
• Using One Line/Cite View (7:37 minutes)
• Using Write-N-Cite (5:53 minutes)
• RefWorks online help pages

Some Suggestions & Directions:
     (Also, check out the FAQ page for more tips)

Organizing the References You Collect

You might want to organize the references you collect by creating separate folders for each class or each paper or project. Feel free to copy a reference into many different folders, but note that when you edit the reference in one folder those edits also appear when you view the reference in another folder.

Getting References into RefWorks

• You can export references from a number of EMU's subscription databases directly into RefWorks (Direct Export). After you do a search in one of these databases you can select/mark the references that appeal to you in the database and then automatically open RefWorks and have the references placed in the Last Imported Folder. You can then transfer the references to the appropriate folder(s) for the paper(s) or project(s) you are working on. This chart lists the databases that support the Direct Export of references into RefWorks and also provides links to instructions as to how to perform the process in each database.
• While not all of EMU's subscription databases support Direct Import into RefWorks, most of them do allow you to select/mark the references that appeal to you and then save them as a text file for import into RefWorks. This chart lists the databases that support saving references as a text file for import into RefWorks and provides links to instuctions as to how to perform the process in each database.
• If a database is not listed on the above chart, you might look for alternative export or save options. If a database provides an export/save option for EndNote, you can use the Refer Format import filter in RefWorks; or if it provides an export/save option for Reference Manager, you can import into RefWorks with the RIS Format import filter. If there is an export/save option for Medline, you can use the NLM PubMed import filter in RefWorks.
• You can always enter references into RefWorks manually, either typing the text or cutting and pasting from another open window on your desktop. RefWorks provides these instructions for entering references manually.

When you Direct Export or save references as a text file for import into RefWorks you should always check the accuracy and completeness of your references. It is best to do this at the time you transfer the references from a database into RefWorks, with the marked database references still open in a browser window and available for comparison with the content transferred into RefWorks.

To properly check the accuracy of the information in RefWorks you should:

1. generate a test bibliography for the reference style you are interested in with the newly transferred references
2. compare the formatting in the test bibliogrpahy with the desired output for the reference style you are using, e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, etc. If you are not familiar with a particular bibliographic style, you should consult your teacher, a librarian, or check some of these illustrative web-based style guide resources.

Here is an example of checking the accuracy of the imported reference information in RefWorks. You should always review the choices in the drop-down menu adjacent to Ref Type (Reference Type) to insure that the descriptive elements that were transferred into RefWorks correspond to the correct 'type' of material described in the database, e.g., whole book by one or more authors, edited book by one or more editors, chapter in an edited book, journal article, magagine article, music score, video/dvd, etc. If the descriptive elements were transferred into the 'Generic' RefWorks Ref Type, change this by selecting the correct Ref Type from the menu.

If the full-text of a reference is also available online, this is a good time to add the required information that is NOT inserted into RefWorks when you use the Direct Export or save references as text file import to get references into the service. [See the next section]

Manually Adding Information to References for Online Full-Text Sources

When you cite something in a bibliography whose full-text you read online, the style guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Modern Language Association (MLA) and others require the inclusion of information that is not inserted into RefWorks when you Direct Export from databases or import saved text files from databases. For example:

• both APA and MLA require the date you read the full-text online (formatted as 4 July 2005 for MLA and July 4, 2005 for APA)
• both APA and MLA require the name of the database or website containing the full-text
• MLA requires the name and location of the library providing access to the full-text, and the URL of the database

This information should be manually added to your RefWorks references so that when you create a bibliography the information will automatically be included in the citations.

In RefWorks,

• search for each reference whose full-text you read online
• click Edit
• Following View required fields for: select the style guideline you want to use, e.g., APA - American Psychological Association, 5th Edition; MLA 6th Edition.
• Scroll down the page to see the fields marked with red asterisks (*) [which are required fields if data is available] and click on the asterisk for instructions

Creating a Stand-Alone Bibliography

Using RefWorks, you can create a stand-alone bibliography without also creating a formattted document with embedded citations. RefWorks provides these instructions for creating a stand-alone bibliography.

Creating a Formatted Paper (with Embedded Citations) AND a Bibliography

RefWorks offers three ways to create formatted papers with embedded citations and an accompanying bibliography when using Microsoft Word:

1. Using One Line/Cite View
2. Using Write-N-Cite
3. Working Offline and Manually Putting References into a Paper

RefWorks Help

If you have questions, check the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page.

If your RefWorks questions are not answered by the information/links above, contact Keith Stanger <keith@stanger.com> and a member of the EMU RefWorks Support Team will respond.