1. What is Ref Works ?
Ref Works is web-based bibliographic citation management software similar to EndNote, ProCite, and Reference Manager. It enables students, staff, and faculty at Western to save, search, and format the information obtained in database and catalogue searches. In addition, citations of print sources may be manually entered.
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2. How does it work?
In short, when you find useful articles or other references in your database or catalogue searches, you “mark” them and then have the option to “export” this information, often including abstracts, into your own Ref Works account. The general process from most databases:
- Mark items in your search.
- Export the citations to Ref Works .
- Log into your own Ref Works account. To register or sign-in, click here. The first time, you must activate your account. Note that you must use an e-mail address in the form username@uwo.ca to establish your account and your account stays with you during the years you are a student or are employed at Western. All universities in Ontario provide this access.
- Complete the importing process into the “Last Imported Folder.”
- Create a new folder and move the citations into the new folder or another folder. There is no limit to the number of different folders you can have, nor is there a limit to the number of citations in a folder or even the total number of citations. You can even have more than one Ref Works account – for example, one for research, one for teaching, and one for personal interests.
- You can search one or more or all of the folders by keyword, author, journal title, etc., to help find items in your account. Items in your folders will have Get It @ Western links to help you locate the full text of your citations.
- Using Write-N-Cite, which requires Microsoft Word 2000 and up, Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000 or XP, and Internet Explorer 5.0 and up, you can place footnotes within your paper and automatically create a bibliography in your choice of formats (e.g. Turabian, APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) If you need to, you can even modify an existing format or create your own.
- Check over your bibliography to make sure all of the citations are properly formatted. Some databases, for example, provide a starting page and the number of pages but not the final page number. This information can be edited into the record.
- Databases and catalogues which do not have direct output options to Ref Works will often allow you to save references in another format and import them into Ref Works .
These are just the basic steps. You can do much more with
Ref Works . See some of the links below for a Fact Sheet, Flash tutorials, Quick Guides, etc.
In order to export records from Western's Shared Catalogue, follow these steps:
- Search for items in the catalogue as your normally would.
- When looking at the complete record for an item you want to remember, click on the "Add to RefWorks " button at the top of the page. If you haven't logged in to RefWorks yet today, you will see the RefWorks login screen.
- If you've never used RefWorks before, click on the "Sign up for an Individual Account" link and fill in the registration form.
- Otherwise, enter your RefWorks account information to log in.
- RefWorks will store the catalogue information in a new reference in your account and report "Import completed - 1 reference imported".
- If you want to check the reference now, click on the "View Last Imported Folder" link, otherwise click on the back button once to return to the library catalogue.
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3. What are the benefits of Ref Works ?
- Ref Works saves the user time in many ways – in saving citations from database searches, in formatting footnotes and bibliographies, and in keeping your citations organized and searchable. In effect, you are creating your own searchable database of articles, books, etc., of interest to you.
- Ref Works lets you re-format your citations from one style to another. For example, if you are submitting an article to several journals, each with its own requirements, you can re-format the whole paper including footnotes and bibliography automatically.
- You can check the Western catalogue for your citations using the Get It @ Western link that accompanies each record.
- You can create and share a Ref Works account with, for example, your research co-investigators or your students, either allowing or not allowing modifications to your records.
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4. Where can I get help with Ref Works ?
If you are experiencing any difficulties using the Ref Works service, or think that something is not working as it should you can:
- Find a Ref Works Fact Sheet.
- Find the Quick Start Guide (pdf).
- View a Flash tutorial on Ref Works (total time 45 minutes, individual segments can be viewed as needed).
- Check the Ref Works FAQs. These will help you learn how to access Ref Works from off-campus, use Write-N-Cite, import references from your existing EndNote database, etc.
- Come to the Service Desk in any of the Western Libraries where our staff will assist you.
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5. What happens when I graduate or retire from Western?
When you leave Western, you have several options concerning Ref Works if you wish to maintain the data:
- If you are going to attend or teach at another Ontario university, you can continue to use Ref Works there. You will need to save your references at Western and re-open them at the other institution.
- You can convert your Western account into an individual subscription to Ref Works (the current price is $70 per year.) Ref Works Technical Support can provide you with instructions on how to move your database.
- If you prefer, you can export your entire database in a format that is compatible with other bibliographic software (EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager, etc.) using one of Ref Works Export options and import them into the new package.
- You can also export the data in a delimited format to use in some other type of database program. See the FAQs for more detail.
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