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Proquest Refworks

Proquest Refworks is a citation manager. Citation managers allow you to upload and organize citations for future reference, create bibliographies with ease, assist with in-text citations, upload full text articles, highlight and annotate uploaded articles, and share with colleagues during collaborative group projects. 

Currently, RefWorks is the citation manager of choice for Texas Woman's University.

How Do I...?

  1.  Use the link above to go to the RefWorks website.
  2. Click on "Create account."

Screen shot of RefWorks splash page with arrow pointing to the create account link below the "Use login from my institution" button.

  1. Enter your TWU email address in the box provided.
  2. Go to your email and click on the link to activate your account.

Some databases will directly upload citations to RefWorks; others require the download of a file to your hard drive that is then imported into RefWorks.

Direct Import (from CINAHL)

  1. Select the articles you wish to upload by clicking on the folder icon next to each title.
  2. Click on the folder icon at the upper right of your screen.

Screen shot of Cinahl database with arrow 1 pointing to article selection and arrow 2 pointing to the folder where selected articles get stored after selection

  1. Once in the main storage folder, re-select the articles you want to upload to RefWorks.
  2. Click on the Export icon.

Screen shot of Cinahl with arrow 3 pointing to selected articles, and arrow 4 pointing to the export icon

  1. Double check to be sure that the database is set to output to RefWorks.
  2. Click on Save. A separate window with RefWorks will pop up and, after you sign in, your citations will automatically be uploaded.

Screen shot of Cinahl's export manager page with arrows pointing to 'citation manager selection' and 'save' icon

Note: The direct method works better with a small number of citations. If you're uploading a large number of citations, we recommend that you use the indirect import detailed below.

Indirect Import (from PubMed)

In PubMed

  1. Select and click on the citations you wish to upload.
  2. Click on the "Send to" icon.

Screen shot of PubMed with arrow pointing to a selection of citations and the 'send to' icon

  1. Click on "Create file."
  2. By default, the file will be sent to your hard drive's Downloads folder. You can choose your own storage location if you prefer.

Screen shot of PubMed with arrows pointing to 'create file' icon and the downloaded file located on bottom left of the screen

In RefWorks

  1. Click on the "Add+" icon.
  2. Select "Import references" from the drop-down menu.

Screen shot of Pubmed with arrows pointing to 'ADD' icon and its subsequent submenu, specifically 'import references'. 'import references'

  1. Click on "Select file from your computer" under "Import from a file." Go to the file that PubMed created and click on it. Your articles will now be uploaded.

Screen shot of PubMed with arrow pointing to ' select file from your computer' option

  1. Click on "My Folders."
  2. From the drop-down menu, click on "+ Add folder."
  3. A pop-up box will appear in the middle of your screen; use this to type in the name for your new folder.

screen shot of RefWorks with arrows pointing to 'My Folders', 'add folder', & 'name your folder'

  1. To share your folder, go to "My Folders," select the folder you wish to share, and click on the three vertical dots beside it.
  2. From the drop-down menu, select "Share folder."

Screen shot of RefWorks with arrows pointing to '3 vertical dots share options tab' & 'share folder'

  1. Use the pop-up box that appears to type in the email address of the person you wish to share the folder with. For multiple people, separate email addresses with a comma.
  1. From your list of saved citations, select only those you wish to include in your bibliography.
  2. Click on the "Create Bibliography" link.

Screen shot of Refworks showing 'all references page' with step one arrow quote" select only those citations you want to include in your bibliography" Step 2 arrow quote "click on 'create bibliography'"

  1. Select the citation style of your choice. In the image below, it is set to APA, 6th Edition, but RefWorks also features MLA, Chicago style, etc.

Screen shot of Refworks with arrow pointing to 'select citation style' drop down menu, and arrow pointing to the bibliography generated by RefWorks from the citations that were specified

  1. Copy and paste the bibliography RefWorks generated to your document.

Note: No automatic bibliography creator is perfect. Make sure to check each citation to confirm that the capitalization and punctuation is correct, based on the citation style for your assignment.

Video Tutorial

How you incorporate your citations into your writing will depend on what you use to write your papers. Older versions of Word will use a Write-n-Cite plug in; newer versions will use RefWorks Citation Manager (RCM). Google Docs users can download RefWorks for Google Docs. There are even versions for use on iPads.

Note: No automatic citation creator is perfect. Make sure to check each citation to confirm that the capitalization and punctuation is correct, based on the citation style for your assignment.

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