Getting your citations right is a snap when using RefWorks

Editor's note: This is a continuation of the most recent post on Summar Library's blog about RefWorks, an online research tool that enables users to gather, organize, store and share research information. RefWorks is available to Union students and faculty and can be accessed under the "Quick Links" on the Emma Waters Summar Library homepage.

You will find a few tips here on using RefWorks, and you also can view RefWorks tutorials here on everything from the basics to searching databases and sharing resources.

Never used RefWorks? Take note of these tips for using it (and visit the previous post, where you can find out more about why you should be using this free resource):

• Let's say you find a source in a database that could be useful to you for more than one project or paper. You can add the citation information for that source to more than one folder when importing that information from a database. You have the option to create a duplicate copy of the record that can go in another folder as well. Click the “Edit” icon and go from there.
• If you're typing in citation information about a source you have in hand, you will want to specify the reference type. You have to tell RefWorks whether your source is a book, article, chapter, grant, grant proposal, report, DVD or some other type of document or media. Note: Adding all of that information changes what is displayed on the “Edit Reference” window.
• You may be able to save a copy of an article you want to use in RefWorks. Here's how to find out if you can: Each citation you save in RefWorks will have an “Article Linker” icon at the bottom of the citation. Click that icon to see whether the library has access to the full-text version of the article, which will likely be found in PDF format (preferred). If you can access the PDF version, a copy of the article can be saved in RefWorks.
• To move an item into a folder: Hover over the folder icon and drop the item into whichever folder you choose. Or click “New Folder” and then click “Create.” Then go over to “Organize and Share Folders” to get to the reference you have just saved.

Also notable: 

• Those studying to be educators who often use the ERIC database will find directions for importing citations from ERIC on Summar Library's Education Research Guide, http://guides.uu.edu/education, under the Articles tab on that webpage. Then students can click on the Article Linker icon (directly below the citation) to check Serials Solutions for the full-text PDF of the article.
• Pop-ups must be enabled in order to allow a reference from a database to be exported into RefWorks, so if you are trying to export a record from a database into RefWorks and it’s not working, be sure you are allowing pop-ups.

Next post: A brief explanation of two features accessible through RefWorks that help users properly create bibliography citations and in-text citations for research papers -- Write-N-Cite and Ref Grab-It. (Those two features can be accessed once a user creates his own personal RefWorks account.)