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RefWorks

Easily citing sources and creating a bibliography

With RefWorks you make your own online literature catalogue. One can import titles from catalogues, databases, and Google Scholar, or one can add them manually. The titles can be organised in folders and used for citing sources in any preferred style in Word documents. All UvA students and staff can use RefWorks.
RefWorks and ProQuest RefWorks

Choosing a citation manager

Next to RefWorks, Mendeley and Zotero are available as citation managers. See the overview of pros and cons for each of these tools.

RefWorks consists of two components: a website and an Add-in in Word. First create an account on the website and then install the Add-in in Word. 

Creating a RefWorks account

For a New RefWorks account you need an UvA email address. If you do not have an UvA email address and you are studying at the UvA, please contact Noor Breuning or Andreja Lekic for support.

  1. Go to https://refworks.proquest.com and choose Create Account.
  2. Fill in your UvA email address (you can change this later), click Check and fill in the required personal details.
  3. You will receive a confirmation email from RefWorks with your login details. Your account will remain active as long as the UvA has a licence for RefWorks.

Legacy RefWorks

Are you still using a Legacy RefWorks account, recognisable by an orange icon? It is important to switch to New RefWorks before 1 March 2023. Legacy RefWorks will be deactivated after June 2023. Create a New RefWorks account. You can migrate the references from you Legacy account in one go; the folder structure is preserved.

Or you can switch to another citation manager, Zotero or Mendeley. Export your references from RefWorks and import them into the new citation manager. The references need to be placed in folders again.

RefWorks in Word

  • If you use Windows or Mac with Word 2016 or a newer Word version, install RefWorks Citation Manager (RCM) via the Word Add-ins.
  • If you use Windows or Mac with an older Word version, install the plug-in Write-N-Cite (WNC). Attention: Word has to be closed before the installation.

Please note: On UvA-computers both RefWorks (WNC) and RCM tabs might be visible in Word. In one-and-the-same document you cannot use both.

You will find more information in the Handout New RefWorks

To continue working on documents with references from a Legacy account, migrate this account to New RefWorks and upgrade your documents. See also the handout. 

Collecting and organising references

  • Importing references. Titles found in CataloguePlus, databases and Google Scholar can be directly imported and saved in RefWorks. For all the tips read Export instructions.
  • Organizing references. If you frequently import titles it is advisable to organise them in folders. Create folders and move references from Not in folder to a folder. You can also create subfolders.  
  • Sharing references. By sharing a folder you create a link to the content of your folder. In Legacy RefWorks, the references in the folder are read-only accessible, also outside of RefWorks. If you want to work together with others then create a new joint RefWorks account. In New RefWorks you can authorize the other person to change references and provide comments in a shared folder.

More information