How to Use RefWorks

RefWorks is an online, bibliographic-management tool that helps you gather and organize citations and insert them into your papers.

RefWorks Login

Quick answers here!

First-time Users:

click "RefWorks Login" at left
enter your SUNY Empire State College login and password
on the next screen, click "Sign Up For A New Account"
fill out the form and click "Next"
fill out the form and click "Create Account."

Returning Users

click "RefWorks Login" at left
enter your SUNY Empire State College login and password
on the next screen, enter your RefWorks login and password.

If you have trouble with your RefWorks login, email RS-RWsupport@refworks.cos.com or call 775-327-4105.

Group Code

Try one of the following if you are being prompted for a group code:

If you are using RefGrabIt, uninstall it, log into RefWorks and install the RefGrabIt bookmarklet (not the plug-in).
If you are using Write-N-Cite, scroll to the bottom of the page and follow the instructions to configure the Write-N-Cite Plug-in.

General Help and Tutorials

RefWorks Video Tutorials: Series of brief videos, each demonstrating and explaining an aspect of RefWorks. There is also a print version.
RefWorks Quick Start Guide: You may find it useful to print this and refer to it as you use RefWorks.
For help, email RefWorks support at RS-RWsupport@refworks.cos.com or call 775-327-4105.
For hands-on experience, work through the RefWorks Fundamentals Workbook and Advanced Features Workbook.
To participate in a live RefWorks webinar, view the schedule and links to previously recorded webinars.

Importing Citations

For most of our databases, you can bring your marked records or the items in your folder into RefWorks with a few clicks of the mouse.

Importing Webpage Citations from Internet Explorer or Firefox Using RefGrabIt Bookmarklet

log into your RefWorks account
go to Tools and select "RefGrab-It"
under "Installing RefGrab-It as a bookmarklet in your browser," follow the instructions for your operating system and browser.

Inserting Citations into Your Paper (RefWorks Integrates with Various Word-processing Programs)

You will need to download and configure the Write-N-Cite plug-in (instructions below) in order to insert footnotes and a bibliography into your paper. You only need to do it once. For help, contact RefWorks support at 775-327-4105.

Download the Write-N-Cite plug-in at: http://www.refworks.com.library.esc.edu/Refworks/WNCDownload.asp

How to configure the Write-N-Cite plug-in for Windows:

go to the Windows Start menu at the bottom left of your screen

select Programs (you also may need to select All Programs), then select RefWorks from the list

select WNC Proxy Configuration Utility

select and copy this proxy: URL: http://library.esc.edu/login?url=https://www.refworks.com/Refworks/?WNC=true

paste it into the dialog box and click "OK"

How to configure the Write-N-Cite plug-in for Mac:

after choosing the appropriate file (based on your Mac version) and downloading it to the computer, open the file "macwncinstall.dmg"

drag the file called "Write-N-Cite X.x" (X.x is the version number) to the desired location, typically your Applications folder; the same file can be dragged to the Program Dock for easy access

double-click to open "Write-N-Cite X.X"

select "Preferences" from the "Write-N-Cite" menu

select "Proxy"

select and copy this proxy URL: http://library.esc.edu/login?url=https://www.refworks.com/Refworks/?WNC=true

paste it into the dialog box and click "OK."

How to Save Your RefWorks Information if You Are Leaving Empire State College

from the "References" or "Tools" menu select "Export"
select either "All References" or a specific folder
under "Export Format" select the format you want to create; we recommend one of each:
- citation list: creates a list to use when writing your paper offline; includes the RefID, Authors Primary, Title Primary and Publication Year only
- tab delimited: saves and organizes all of your data with each field separated by a tab; may be loaded into other programs that are designed to read this type of format
click "Export to Text File"
follow your browser's instructions for viewing the file and save it to your hard disk before closing; after the bibliography is created, you also may email the file
the email address in your RefWorks account is automatically entered, but you can overwrite it with another address; only one email address may be entered.

Talk to a Live Person for Support

Call RefWorks support at 775-327-4105

Get Help Doing Research

Ask A Librarian

Get Help Writing Your Paper

Get online tutoring from SmarThinking.

For more information about writing and tutorials, try the Writing Resource Center.

Online Library