Support for RefWorks

Accessing RefWorks

Importing references from library databases

• From a text file
• From email
• Using Direct Export

Importing references from NUcat

• Searching NUcat through RefWorks
• Importing NUcat search results

Entering references manually

Organizing your references

Creating and formatting bibliographies and reference lists

RefWorks-compatible databases available at Northwestern

Login to RefWorks

RefWorks Online Tutorial

RefWorks Quick Start Guide

RefWorks is a web-based bibliography management program. It can help you keep track of references from a variety of sources and organize your library research. It can also create bibliographies in many different formats (e.g.: MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style, Turabian, etc...) and can interact with Microsoft Word to help you produce properly formatted in-text references, footnotes and endnotes. The Library has purchased a campus-wide site license for RefWorks, so access to it is free for all Northwestern University students, faculty and staff.

Accessing RefWorks

You must create a personal account to use RefWorks, and to do so you must either be on campus and connected to NUnet or authenticating via the Virtual Private Network from off-campus. (After you have established an account, you may access RefWorks from off-campus; see below for more information.)

To begin, go to http://www.refworks.com/refworks/ (opens in a new window) and click on "Sign up for an individual account." Fill out the brief registration form. An account confirmation email will be sent to the the address you provide.

Should I use my Northwestern NetID and password as my RefWorks Login and password?
This is up to you. You might want to make your RefWorks login the same as your NetID to make it easier to remember. However, it is not a good idea to make your RefWorks password the same as your NetID password. RefWorks is not tied into Northwestern's NetID authentication system. When you access your RefWorks account, you are making an unencrypted connection to a server that is not managed by Northwestern, and it is possible for your unencrypted password to be intercepted and used to access your Northwestern accounts.

Once you have established an account, you may login at http://www.refworks.com/refworks/ and start using RefWorks. To use your RefWorks account from off-campus, you will need to enter the Northwestern Group Code in addition to your personal login and password. The Northwestern Group Code is included in the account confirmation email you received from RefWorks and should be considered confidential. If you have misplaced this information, please use this form to have the Group Code sent to you via email.