RefWorks: The Citation Management Tool

What?

RefWorks is a web based tool that helps you to manage your many citations! WPI Gordon Library has purchased this for use by all WPI students, faculty, and staff. It helps you keep track of the sources you are using for your research, including the ability to paste in sections of the text of the documents and your own notes about the sources. RefWorks accounts can be used to publish course reading lists or to foster group collaboration on projects. Project teams with a myWPI course site will find RefWorks a handy to share and manage references.

Within myWPI tools, you & your students can now directly access your RefWorks account by clicking on the RefWorks link in the Tools area of your course. If you wish to share your references with your students or to create a class account which they can share references and articles go to the Tools area of myWPI to find the RefWorks bridge.

Tip: Setting up your RefWorks account

Before using the RefWorks bridge in myWPI it is suggested that you set up an Individual Refworks account. To do so:

Click on the RefWorks link on the library web site or go to www.refworks.com/refworks *
Click on Sign Up for an Individual Account.
Enter the appropriate information and click on Register.

* If you are connecting from off campus, use the Proxy to connect or login using your Group Code (send a request via our Ask a Librarian form to get the group code)

Configuring the RefWorks Bridge

In order to use the Refworks Bridge in myWPI, you must configure the tool and associate it with a RefWorks account.

Go to Course Menu > Course Tools > RefWorks - bibliographic management software

You will be prompted to create a new RefWorks account or link to an existing RefWorks account.

Creating a New RefWorks Account

Click the Create a new account radio button.
A RefWorks account will be automatically created for you.

Using an existing RefWorks Account

Click the Use an existing account radio button.
In the Login Name field, enter your RefWorks login name.
In the Password field, enter the password for this RefWorks account.

Warning

Once associated with myWPI, your Refworks login name will be changed to "BB-[myWPIusername]". This is now your refWorks username and you will need to use this new username to login to your RefWorks account.

You will receive an acknowledgment email containing the RefWorks account login information: username, password, read-only password, and the RefWorks Group Code.

Connecting to RefWorks from myWPI Course Content Areas

Tip!

As the instructor you can choose the level of access your students have to your RefWorks database. There are two access levels: full and read-only.

Full access allows students to search and manage (add, edit and delete), import and export records as well as create bibliographies. Students with full access use the RefWorks link that is made in the course, or the predetermined login name and password if accessing the database outside of myWPI.
Read–only access allows students to search, view and print references, but not add, edit or delete records. To establish read-only access, the instructor must create a read-only password in the Update User Information area of RefWorks (In RefWorks: Tools > Update User Information). Students will have direct access to the database through the RefWorks link that is made in the course, or log in with the login name and this read-only password if using the database outside of myWPI.

To add a RefWorks database to a Content Area or Folder go to Control Panel > Content Areas
Select the name of the Content Area you want to add the database to (such as Course Documents).
In the toolbar, select Link to RefWorks Database. The Link RefWorks Database page appears.

Enter RefWorks account information your received in the RefWorks account creation acknowledgement email.

Click Submit to add the link to the RefWorks Database.

Maintained by itweb@wpi.edu
Last modified: Oct 22, 2008, 12:40 EDT