Many researchers already know how helpful bibliographic management software can be, and are using products like Reference Manager and ProCite. Now there's RefWorks, a new web-based alternative that makes a great, low-cost introduction for students (who are often instructed to use APA or other style guides to format their papers). The convenient web format may appeal to researchers and authors as well. You can access your database anywhere you find a good reference -- at your desk, in the library, or at home.
Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) released RefWorks this past spring. You can use it to build and manage a database of references, generate a bibliography, or to format your manuscript's in-text citations and create a reference list with their Write-N-Cite software that works with Microsoft Word. (Caveat: Just like with computer-generated driving directions, you need to do a reality check and proofread the output! Style manuals such as the APA 5th ed. are in the Library on Reserve or in the Reference area).
CSA is offering a free 30-day trial of RefWorks and individuals can purchase a 1-year subscription for $50. If you decide not to continue your subscription, you can always load your citations into another application by exporting them to RIS format (used by Reference Manager, EndNote, and ProCite).
RefWorks can directly query PubMed and many large library catalogs, including the Library of Congress.
For the OVID databases, and a growing list of other databases, you'll need to save your search results and use the RefWorks import feature.
One limitation may be RefWork's relative lack of output styles (111 compared to Reference Manager's 730) so check to see if the format you need is included.
Try it out and let us know what you think!
Stay tuned for more articles in this series:
- Should you upgrade to Reference Manager version 10?
- Comparing web-based bibliographic management products
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