A frequent question that students ask instructors and librarians is “How do I put my paper in APA (or another) style?” Faculty and support staff are always looking for ways to make manuscript preparation easier. To address these issues and others related to reference organization, software developers have designed the personal file management program.
RefWorks is a relative newcomer to the ranks of this type of software. Most people are probably familiar with the big triad of Endnote, Reference Manager, and ProCite—all owned by Thomson ISI ResearchSoft. RefWorks' uniqueness lies in the fact that it is Web-based and is simple and easy to use. Because it is Web-based, users can access the program from any computer that has an Internet connection, and there is no local information technology support required, because there is no software to install or upgrade. Upgrades happen automatically over the Web. Of course, one disadvantage to an Internet-based program is that if users have slow connections or if their networks go down, they cannot access their accounts.
Interestingly, the cofounders of RefWorks are the former chief executive officer, general manager, and director of software for Research Information Systems, the company that created Reference Manager, so they are well versed in personal file management programs. RefWorks is distributed through Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA), and, as a result, many of the CSA databases work seamlessly with the program.
Another appeal of RefWorks is its affordability. Subscription to the program for one year is $70.00 for individuals. For institutions, the $1,500 price is based on a full-time equivalent (FTE) of less than 2,000 full-time students. If full-time enrollment is more than 2,000, the subscription price is $0.70 per head. This allows unlimited access to RefWorks for one year to any authorized user of the library (students, faculty, staff, or administration). Because it can be purchased as a subscription and can be offered freely to faculty, staff, and students, this makes it more accessible for institutions than other stand-alone products. Libraries concerned about purchasing or supporting another personal file management program for their institution do not need to view it as an either/or selection. Users of other personal file management programs can use RefWorks in conjunction with their software. The flexibility of working remotely and exporting records into a stand-alone program makes RefWorks highly compatible with existing programs.
After registering, an email message is sent from RefWorks with an institution-specific remote access code. This code is required, in addition to a login and password, every time the system is accessed from a location away from the institution's Internet protocol (IP) range. Thus researchers can access their RefWorks account from anywhere with an Internet connection.
RefWorks is very easy to learn and easy to teach. It is designed for anyone—students, faculty, clinicians, and researchers. The simplicity of the interface makes it an especially useful program for students and busy clinicians. It is a somewhat more simplified version of the big three programs, but, for the vast majority of users, that is perfectly fine. The benefits of an easier learning curve outweigh the need for all the bells and whistles. Also, its simplified interface has not resulted in a loss of functionality or inability to tailor the program to the individual user's needs. RefWorks has all the same basic features as the other big three: the ability to create references manually using a variety of templates; a master list of authors, keywords, and journals; a built-in search engine for searching databases like PubMed and online catalogs; the ability to import from remote databases; and the ability to format in-text citations and references for a manuscript. New output formats and database filters cannot be created by end users but must be requested from RefWorks. A common question is whether there is a limit on the number of references contained in a database; with RefWorks, there is no limit. The notes, abstracts, and user-defined fields in the references are limited to one gigabyte, more than enough for most people.
For institutions using the Ovid suite of databases, Ovid can activate an option with Direct Export that automatically launches either RefWorks or Endnote and allows searchers to drop references directly into their databases, or folders, as RefWorks defines it. More and more online databases are including an option to import into RefWorks; previously they listed just Endnote and Reference Manager. The OCLC First Search databases list RefWorks as an option besides Endnote for importing references and automatically launch a separate browser for RefWorks.
Of interest and benefit to researchers and staff working on grants is the ability to share accounts. One person can set up a database and share the password among fellow researchers, so that any number of people can contribute to the database and use those combined resources for writing grants or manuscripts. Faculty will also be interested in the feature that allows them to create a read-only database, which can be used as a reading list for their students.
One of the favorite features of any of the personal file management programs is the ability to format in-text citations and create a reference list. RefWorks has a utility called Write-N-Cite that subscribers can download onto their computers. This utility is then embedded into the word processing program as an icon that launches the user's database, providing an easy means of inserting citations into the text. Once the document is ready for formatting, the style of choice is selected from the Write-N-Cite utility. Another document is created, leaving the original manuscript unchanged. In this way, the style of the paper can be changed numerous times, leaving the original paper intact.
For users who want to work on their manuscripts at a computer that does not have the Write-N-Cite utility loaded, for example, at publicly used computers, Cite View is available in the full RefWorks program. This view does require an extra step of cutting and pasting references from a pop-up menu, so most users will probably prefer loading the utility program.
Some modifications could be made to RefWorks. For institutions that have a nursing school and active nursing researchers, the lack of an option in the registration process to choose nursing as an area of interest is an oversight that needs to be addressed. When a new folder (or library or database) is created, the program does not automatically open that new folder. Either launching that folder automatically or adding an “open folder” button next to the folders would save some confusion. When creating a new reference manually, the user can select a folder to put that reference into. But once the folder has been chosen, the selection menu reverts back to its original Choose a Folder command and appears to have ignored the command. It actually does put the reference in the chosen folder, but this has confused some users who think they need to make the selection again.
RefWorks tech support has been very responsive to emails and does an excellent job of writing clear responses. Their tech support is also quick to create filters or Z39.50 search capabilities for institutional online catalogs. The online help is good and provides clear step-by-step instructions.
The program has an administrative component, which allows the institutional contact person to generate statistics on the use of the program. The ability to compile usage statistics is vital for budget discussions. A summary report of usage and new registrants by month, listings of who is using the system and average number of logins, are just some of the options available for statistical reports.
The affordability, ease of use and training, and convenience of access make RefWorks a viable option for institutions looking to provide research support to their faculty, staff, and students. RefWorks has a thirty-day trial available from their Website at http://www.refworks.com, and readers are encouraged to try the program and compare it to other personal file management programs.