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Reference Management Tool - RefWorks: Add References

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To insert citations in MS Word, first import the references into RefWorks. You can add references to your RefWorks account via the following channels :

  1. From LibrarySearch
  2. From Library Databases
  3. From PDFs
  4. Manually Input a Reference

A.   From LibrarySearch

LibrarySearch supports exporting references in RefWorks. Here are the detailed steps:

Import a Reference From LibrarySearch

  1. From the LibrarySearch result, select a record 
  2. Click on the 'Citation' icon
  3. Choose 'RefWorks' to download 
Export an item

Import Multiple References From LibrarySearch 

  1. From the search results, select items you want to add to RefWorks
  2. Click the Pin button (icon-1) to add them to 'My Favorites'
  3. Press the 'Go to My Favorites' button (icon-2) at the top right corner
  4. Select the entries list
  5. Click "Push to" actions button (icon-3)
  6. Choose RefWorks to import

B.   From Library Databases

Many library databases allow you to export references in formats compatible with citation management tools like RefWorks. Two frequently used formats that can be imported into RefWorks are ris. files and nbib files.

On the search results list:

  1. Select reference(s) you want to export
  2. Click Export on the top and select RefWorks (RIS)
  3. Review and confirm the export settings, then click Export

On the search results list:

  1. Select reference(s) you want to export
  2. Click Export on the top and select RIS(other reference software)
  3. Review and confirm the export settings, then click Export

On the search results list:

  1. Select reference(s) you want to export
  2. Click Send to and select Citation manager
  3. Click Create file to export selected reference(s), and a nbib. file will be downloaded

On the search results list:

  1. Select reference(s) you want to export
  2. Click Export
  3. Select RefWorks in the 'Citations' tag
  4. Review and confirm the export settings, then click Download

On the search results list:

  1. Select reference(s) you want to export
  2. Click Export
  3. Choose Save to RefWorks

On the search results list:

  1. Click Folder icon to save reference(s) to your EBSCOhost Folder
  2. Select Folder on the top menu bar to view saved reference(s)
  3. Check the box next to the reference(s)
  4. Click Export
  5. Choose Direct Export to RefWorks
  6. Click Save to export the selected reference(s)

C.   From PDFs

RefWorks allows you to upload PDF files and automatically extracts the metadata, filling in the information to create a complete citation. However, the imported PDFs might lack some details, such as authors or page numbers. Ensure that you check the information before citing it.

Ways to import PDF file(s) to RefWorks

Method 1: Click Add from the top menu bar of RefWorks, then select Upload document

Method 2: Select PDFs, then drag and drop the PDFs from your computer to RefWorks

D.  Manually Input a Reference

When it is not feasible to download a reference of source like websites or newspapers, you might need to manually generate the reference. Here are the steps to add a reference manually :

  1. Click Add from the menu bar of RefWorks
  2. Select Create reference manually
  3. A box appears on the right for entering reference details. Begin by selecting the Ref Type, such as Journal Article
  4. Click on ' Find and Complete reference' icon () after entering details like Title, DOI, or ISSN/ISBN to automatically match the title with an item in the library
  5. Select the title of the option you want, then the reference details will be added to RefWorks
  6. Press Save

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