RefWorks tutorial: Organizing information

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Organizing information about references

All references have a unique Ref ID that is never repeated (even if the reference is deleted). Users can create folders to create separate, searchable sub-collections of their references. In addition, users can create their own descriptors to group sources in other ways. RefWorks also has built-in search and sort tools that can be used to examine a collection of references. This is useful, especially when working with dozens or hundreds of references.

What are folders and descriptors?

Refworks uses folders to sort references and divide them into categories. Folders are completely under the control of the user except for the two default "views": View All and View Last Imported.

Descriptors are terms that can be used to search and sort a collection of sources. Some descriptors are defined when a reference is imported: Library of Congress subject headings for NUcat references, for example.

Users can also define their own descriptors:

  1. When viewing a list of references, check the box next to each reference for which you want to add a descriptor
  2. Using the form at the top of the frame, click Add Descriptor
  3. Type a descriptor in the text field and click OK

RefWorks' built in search tools (detail, right) will look for both imported and user-generated descriptors (see an example).

How to create and manipulate folders

  1. Click Organize Folders
  2. To create a new folder, click Create New Folder
  3. To rename a folder, click the link Rename
  4. To delete a folder, click the link Delete
    Note that you won't actually delete the references in that folder. They will be returned to the general collection
  5. To move all references out of a folder, click Clear Folder

How to move references to a folder

  1. When viewing a list of references, check the box next to each reference you want to move.
  2. Using the form at the top of the frame, select the folder from the dropdown menu Put in Folder...
    RefWorks will ask you to confirm that you are moving the references

How to view your entire collection of references

Clicking View All will show you your entire list of references. There is currently no way to view references that are not assigned to any particular folder. For this reason, it is sometimes helpful to sort the collection by RefID or by creation date so that the most recent sources are displayed at the top of the list.

How to view only one folder's references

Select the folder you want to view from the View Folder... drop down menu. The name of the folder will appear at the top of the frame. As with View All, checking multiple boxes lets you move, delete, or annotate multiple references.

Working with the "Last Imported" folder

When importing references (from NUcat, for example), RefWorks stores these references in the folder Last Imported. This is convenient for sorting your latest acquisitions. However, note that importing more sources will remove the previously imported sources (they are not deleted, and can be viewed using View All.)

  
 

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