Skip to Main Content

RefWorks

How to use RefWorks to organize, store, and share citations and generate bibliographies.

Creating a Folder

RefWorks enables you to organize your references into folders and subfolders, making it easier for you to manage all your citations over the course of different projects.  

Brief video tutorial:

 
Step-by-step instructions: 

Tip:  Items can be assigned to multiple collections, but need only be in your RefWorks account once.

To create a new collection:
  1. Expand My Collections and click Add a collection.
  2. Name your collection and click Save. Your new collection will appear under My Collections.
 
​To create sub-collections:
  1. In My Collections, click the More icon for the collection you wish to as a sub-collection to.
  2. Select Add subcollection.​
  3. Give your sub-collection a name and click Save.  You'll see an arrow appear next to the main collection name, indicating there is a sub-collection.  Clicking on the arrow displays any sub-collections.
 

Uploading One or More Documents from Your Computer

You can add documents from your computer into your RefWorks account. You can use the Upload document drop-down under the Add icon, or drag and drop files.
 
Tip:  If you want to add your documents to a specific collection, make sure you’re viewing the collection first.

Using the Upload document option:
  1. Click the Add   icon, then click the Upload document to browse and search your computer for your file.
  2. RefWorks will begin uploading the file and extracting any meta data in your Recent area.
  3. Once the document has been analyzed and uploaded, you can then select the reference and add or edit the metadata.

Using the drag and drop option:

Tip:  If you want to add your documents to a specific collection, make sure you’re viewing the collection first.

  1.  If you’re dragging multiple files, RefWorks will create a separate reference for each document.  Slightly minimize your RefWorks screen and select the documents you want to bring into RefWorks.  
  2. Drag the documents into the main viewing area. You'll see a circle display for you to drag the documents into.
  3. Your documents will be analyzed and uploaded and, once complete, you can then add or edit metadata for these new references.