searching with refworks

Kay Cunningham, Library DirectorPlough Memorial Library

Christian Brothers UniversityFall 2010

Getting Started with RefWorks at CBU:

Searching with RefWorks 2.0

RefWorks is…

Bibliographic Citation Manager

Web-basedUseful for

Collecting referencesOrganizing researchCreating bibliographiesCollaborating with others

Available to CBUStudentsFacultyStaffAlumni For help signing up, click the RefWorks link on

the Library homepage

Internal Searches

Why you Search?

Once your RefWorks database reaches a certain size, you won’t be able to remember everything that is in it

Remember you can create an unlimited number of folders within your database, and any of them can include an unlimited number of references

How you Search

QuickSearch Advanced Search

KeywordSearches all fields

including Abstract and User-defined

Searches all your references

Default connector - OR

Searches all fields in combination

Available connectors – AND, OR, NOT

Search within foldersSpecial searches

AuthorDescriptor (Subject)Periodical

QuickSearch

The simplest option

Advanced Search - Author

You can Search or Browse for Author names

NOTE: You can edit author names so that they are uniform; notice the two variations for Stephen Abram

Click the edit icon, correct the name, and Save

Advanced Search – Periodical Search

Again, you can browse or search, as well as edit or delete any periodical titles

Periodical titles may be spelled out or abbreviated according to the databases they are imported from

Advanced Search - Combinations

Use AND, OR, or NOT to combine concepts

Use the plus icon to add search fields; the “X” to remove them

Advanced Search – other Fields

Any field is searchable…; you can even search for empty fields

Advanced Search - within a Folder

Click the radio button, “From Selected Folders,” then make your choices

External Searches

Searching Online Catalogs or Databases

RefWorks allows you to connect to selected external resources for easy import of references:

The PubMed DatabaseHundreds of Library

Online Catalogs, including,CBU’s Buccat

Tips for Searching External Resources

Run a preliminary search

50 is a good number for previewing, as well as the default

Once you see the total number available, re-set the maximum number of references and re-run the search

g

Importing Select the references you want•Random selections•All on the page, or•All or the listThen click IMPORT to add them to your RefWorks account

Note: using external databases directly gives you more options and flexibility; searches launched from RefWorks are usually simple searches

Getting Started with RefWorks at CBU: Searching with RefWorks

See other handouts on:

Collaborating with RefShareCustomizing Your AccountMaking BibliographiesRegistering for an Account and Setting Up a

DatabaseWorking with FoldersWrite N Cite