RefWorks

Viewing your RefWorks library

As you add references to your RefWorks library, they appear in the All References section.

Change the view to Citation View

By default, your references are not shown in a specific style. You don't need to add a style at this point to create your reference list. However, if you would like to view them in your preferred style:

1. Find the Display option in the top right-hand corner.
2. Change the view from Normal View to Citation View.
3. In the Citation View section, use the cog icon to select the style you need. You can change this style at any time.

Icons in Citation View

When your references are in Citation View, you may see two icons within your references - a yellow exclamation mark in a triangle or a blue question mark in a circle. These are prompts from RefWorks that information might be missing.

• Exclamation mark - this information is likely required for your referencing style.
• Question mark - this information might be required for your referencing style.

In practice, this is not entirely accurate. RefWorks will sometimes request information that is not required for your particular referencing style.

This is why it's really important to understand your referencing style before using RefWorks - you need to know what information is required so you can make edits. If you aren't sure, check Cite Them Right to see what pieces of information are required for a reference.

Editing references

Whether you see a mistake yourself or you are prompted by RefWorks to add information, you will need to edit your references once they are in your library.

Why is it important to edit references in RefWorks?

Sometimes RefWorks can make mistakes - information might be missing or in the wrong place. You are responsible for the content of your final work and it's up to you to check that the information is correct.

Edit a reference

1. Find the reference you would like to edit in your library. When you click on the reference, the reference will appear in a sub-menu on the right-hand side.
2. Press the pencil icon in the right-hand corner to move into Edit mode.
3. If you see a mistake in the reference, click the box that you need to change and make the edits.

If you're not sure what your reference should look like, you can go to the Cite Them Right platform to see examples of references in your chosen style. 

Creating and managing folders

You can organise your references into RefWorks. This is helpful if you like to organise your references into topics or pieces of work.

Create a folder

1. In RefWorks, select My Folders on the left-hand side.
2. Select Add Folder and give your folder a name.
3. You should now see the new folder in the My Folders section.

Add items to a folder

1. In RefWorks, select All References.
2. Tick the items you would like to move to your folder.
3. Select Assign to Folder in the top menu and choose the folder(s) you would like to move the references to. Press Apply.

Add items to a folder when adding them to RefWorks

1. When you add items to RefWorks by pressing a RefWorks button or downloading an .ris file, use the dropdown Folder option to select a folder.

Note: You will always find all of your references in the All References section even if they are also in a specific folder.

Video tutorial - organising references into folders