Adding References
RefWorks allows users to import references by:
1) searching e-resources, marking records, and direct exporting them
or saving citations as text files into
RefWorks.
2) directly
connecting to and searching selected catalogs and databases from within
RefWorks itself.
3) manually entering references
into a form.
Instructions for these three methods are provided in this section.
Importing Citations from Harvard E-Resources
With the exception of PubMed and ERIC, RefWorks does not allow users to directly search and import Harvard E-Resource references. Instead, users must search the database itself, mark particular citations, and then import or export those citations to RefWorks. Some databases, like EBSCO's Academic Search Premier and the MLA Bibliography have a "Direct Export to RefWorks" feature. Many others require researchers to save their selected citations as text (".txt") files, and then import their references into RefWorks using the appropriate filter. Since each database is unique in its structure, menu options, and features, no one set of Import/Export instructions applies to all.
Here is how Academic
Search Premier, one of our major e-resources, works:
1) Search ASP and mark the records you wish to export into your RefWorks
account by clicking on Add folder to the right of
the citation in the results list. The icon will change to Added.
2) When you are done adding references, click on the icon that says Folder
has items.
3) On the next screen, click on Save.
4) On the next screen, click on the blue tab labeled Bibliographic
Manager.
5) On the next screen, select the option Direct Export to RefWorks and then click on Save.
Your references will be imported into the "Last Imported Folder" of your RefWorks account.
Notes/Tips for Specific E-Resources
Factiva
References must be entered manually at this time.
Lexis-Nexis
From Lexis-Nexis, select articles from a results list by marking the checkboxes.
To export to RefWorks, click on the tiny open book icon on the top
right – it’s the last icon on a row of four (printer, email, save,
book). Choose “tagged documents” (or either of the other two) and
click on Export (RefWorks seems to be the only choice). RefWorks should
open to its login screen; the documents should import correctly. PubMed
Researchers may search PubMed from within RefWorks itself by following the instructions below. Another option is to search PubMed itself, select records, add to clipboard, and then change Display from “Summary” to “Medline.” In the “Send to” dropdown menu, select “File” and then save as a text file. Open RefWorks and then import using the “NLM PubMed” import filter.
Citation Indexes/Web of Science
1. There is no direct export to RefWorks available. To export citations, perform a topic search and view the results list. Then:
- Mark records.
- Click Export to Reference Software.
- Click Export.
- Save as text (.txt) file.
- Follow instructions in “2” below.
Note: if you want to export more than the citation fields (for example, abstract, keywords, times cited, etc.):
- Mark records.
- Click Add to marked list.
- Click Marked list.
- Select the fields to include in the output.
- Click Export to Reference Software.
- Save as text (.txt) file.
- Follow instructions in “2” below.
2. Open RefWorks:
- From "References" menu, select Import.
- "Import Filter": select ISI.
- "Database": select Web of Science.
- From Import data from the following Text File, browse to choose your text file.
- Click Import.
- References are imported into Last Imported Folder.
WorldCat
It is not possible to export WorldCat citations to RefWorks using the public access version of the database. However, the FirstSearch version available to Harvard researchers does allow for exporting to RefWorks. From the results list in WorldCat, mark your citations, click on Export, and then select RefWorks from the "Export to" menu.Google Scholar
In Scholar Preferences, under Bibliography Manager, select the radio button “Show links to import citations into.....”, then select RefWorks from the dropdown menu and click on “Save preferences.”Web Pages
Use the RefGrab-It feature in your browser's toolbar to create a bibliographic citation of the current Web page you are viewing in RefWorks. You can install this plug-in from the Tools menu within RefWorks. RefGrab-It "grabs" at least the URL, and sometimes other bibliographic information. Note that imported records will often need editing for a complete citation. NOTE: RefGrab-It does NOT currently work with PDFs.Importing from Online Catalogs and PubMed
You can use RefWorks as a search interface for online catalogs and some publicly available databases, such as PubMed. [Note: for most Harvard E-Resources, users need to search the database itself, mark particular citations, save the citations as .txt files, and then import them into RefWorks--see Importing E-Resource Citations as Text Files below.]
1. From the Search pull-down menu, select Online
Catalog or Database.
2. Under Online Database to Search, select a database
from the drop down menu.
3. Select the Max. Number of References to Download from
the drop-down menu.
4. Enter terms in either the Quick Search for: or in
the Advanced Search for: box.
5. For PubMed, you can type in a few words or you can use
specialized syntax for searching PubMed by clicking on the link: “With
Quick Search on PubMed you can simply enter terms you are interested
in or use more sophisticated searching via the search syntax described
here.”
6. Click on Search to begin your search. A new window will open displaying your search results.
7. Select the references you wish to import into your RefWorks account and click Import.
Manually Entering References
1. Select References from the pull-down menu tool bar and then choose Add New Reference.
2. Start by selecting your bibliographic output style (e.g. APA, Chicago,
MLA, journal styles) under View required
fields for.
3. Designate the type of reference you are entering (e.g. journal,
book, or dissertation) under Ref Type. Field
names marked with a green checkmark indicate required information needed
to produce an accurate bibliography for the selected output style and
reference type. These fields are not required
to save the actual reference in RefWorks.
4. Enter information in the boxes provided and click Save reference when finished.
Click on the “more detailed information here” link to see a detailed description of the style you selected.
Direct Exporting HOLLIS Records or Importing as Text Files
Although you can directly search HOLLIS from within RefWorks, many users find the Z39.50 search interface limited. They would rather search the HOLLIS catalog and then directly export their references or import their results into RefWorks as text files.
Direct Exporting to RefWorks from HOLLIS
1. Search HOLLIS and select the records you wish to import into RefWorks. To do this, marking the boxes next to each record you want and then click on Print/Save/Send.
2. Under "Record Format" select Full (use with Refworks), leave the other fields blank and click Print/Save/Send.
3. On the next page, click on the link that says Export to RefWorks. The link will automatically redirect the user to RefWorks. After logging in to a personal account in RefWorks, the citations will be imported.
Importing HOLLIS Records as Text Files into RefWorks
1) First, search HOLLIS and select the records you wish to import into RefWorks. To do this, marking the boxes next to each record you want and then click on Print/Save/Send.
2) On the Print/Save/Send screen, select the "Full (use
with RefWorks)" record
format. Note, if you click on the "Full with locations and call numbers" option,
the import will NOT work properly. Also,
the only way of importing HOLLIS records with call numbers into RefWorks
is to search HOLLIS from within RefWorks itself. The import process
outlined here will not import call numbers.
3) Next, click on Print/Save/Send twice and then save
the displayed references as a .txt file (using your browser's File >Save
As... option).
4) In RefWorks, choose Import under the References menu.
Once you are in the import screen, select "ExLibris ALEPH" as the
import filter/data source and then "HOLLIS Catalog (full)" as the
database. Using the Browse menu, locate the .txt file you saved
to your computer and then click on Import.
Getting References from Word into RefWorks
If you have references in Word that you’d like to enter in RefWorks without re-keying, you have a couple of options:
Search and Export
For comprehensive data related to your citations, including subject
headings and abstracts (when available), identify databases likely to
index your references, search in the databases for the authors/titles
from your reference list, and export records from the databases to
RefWorks.
For example, search book references in the HOLLIS
Catalog. For articles in education, searching across
Academic Search
Premier, ERIC, and Education
Abstracts is a good place
to start. For databases in other fields, see Find
E-Resources or ask a librarian.
- OR -
Convert and Import
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to capture the citation
information only, there are a few open-source software programs that
convert citations to a form RefWorks can read. The tool described below
converts references to the BiBTeX file format. We’ve tested it with
citations in APA format. It works pretty well for most standard book and
journal article references, but the imports will need some clean up.
1. Go to http://www.snowelm.com/~t/doc/tips/makebib.en.html
2. Paste your Word reference list in APA format into the empty box. Make sure there are two line breaks between each reference.
3. Click “Make BibTeX source!” button.
4. Copy the BibTeX-coded text.
5. Open RefWorks > References > Import
6. Select: Import Filter/Data Source = BibTeX
Database =
7. Select “Import Data from the following text.”
8. Paste the BibTeX-coded text into the box.
9. Click Import.
10. Check and edit your references in the Last Imported Folder.
Importing "My Basket" Citations in E-Research@Harvard into RefWorks
After saving citations to your "My Basket" section of E-Research@Harvard Libraries, it is possible to download these citations directly into RefWorks. After checking the boxes next to the citations you wish to export in "My Basket," click on the "Send/Save" link. The selected records will be displayed. Click on "Save" and then select "Citation Manager" as a record format. This will create an .end file that can be imported into RefWorks using the "Reference Manager (RIS)" filter.