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Citation Management

Using Legacy RefWorks

Logging In to Legacy RefWorks

Johns Hopkins has an institution-wide subscription to RefWorks, which means that everyone has an account to use if they wish. You will log in to your RefWorks account with your JHED login and password.

  1. Begin by going to the Welch Medical Library website.
  2. From the website, click on the link to Legacy RefWorks.
  3. On campus or on a VPN, you will see the JHED login screen.
  4. Log in with your JHED to activate and start using your account.

Help and Documentation

See the RefWorks help site for further information and training.

Organizing References in RefWorks

The video below demonstrates how to tackle organization in RefWorks.

Adding References to RefWorks

Importing References from PubMed to RefWorks

  1. Once you have completed your search in PubMed, click on Send to.
  2. Select Citation Manager.
  3. Select how many citations you would like to send.
  4. Click Create File.
  5. A box will pop up to help you save your file. Select Save File then click OK.

Alternative PubMed Export Options

  1. Once you have completed your search in PubMed, click on Sent to.
  2. Select File.
  3. Select PubMed from the Format dropdown menu.
  4. Click Create File.
  5. A box will pop up to help you save your file. Select Save File then click OK

Importing into Legacy RefWorks

  1. Click on References.
  2. Select Import from the dropdown menu.
  3. If the file was exported from PubMed, be sure to change the Import Filter/Data Source to NLM PubMed, the database should automatically change to Pubmed once you select this option.
  4. Click Choose File. This will open your Downloads folder. Select the file you wish to import (citations.nbib OR pubmed_results.txt).
  5. Optional: If you already have a folder created in RefWorks for this search, you can select it from the Import Into Folder dropdown menu.

Importing References from Embase to Legacy RefWorks

Saving the citations as a file in Embase:

  1. Once you have completed your search in Embase and selected the items that you want to import, click on Export.
  2. Make sure RIS format (Mendeley, EndNote) is selected.
  3. Click on Export.
  4. Click on Download.

Importing Files into Legacy RefWorks

  1. Click on References.
  2. Select Import from the dropdown menu.
  3. Change the Import Filter/Data Source to RIS File, the database to RIS File.
  4. Click Choose File, This will open your Downloads folder. Select the Embase file you want to import.
  5. Optional: If you already have a folder created in RefWorks for this search, you can select it from the Import Into Folder dropdown menu.
  6. Click on Import.

Adding References by Importing Text Files

The video below demonstrates import references using text files.

Adding References by Database Direct Export

The video below demonstrates direct export from a number of frequently-used databases.

Legacy RefWorks Group Accounts

If you are working on a group project, contact your informationist and he or she can set up a Group Account in RefWorks for the project. With a group account you will have a login and password that everyone can use to access the account and save references to the account. The following videos will show you additional ways that you can share citations from your RefWorks account.

This video walks you through creating a bibliography in multiple output styles.

Finding Duplicate References In Your Account

There are two ways to check for duplicate references in your RefWorks account. You can check your entire RefWorks account for duplicates or you can check a specific folder (or subfolder) only, for duplicate references.

Regardless of which duplicate check you perform (your entire account or just a folder), there are two options: Exact Duplicates or Close Duplicates.

Exact Duplicates

Exact duplicates checks for exact matches based upon the Author Names, Title and Year of Publication fields.

Close Duplicates

Checking is done by comparing a combination of Author Names, Title, and Year of Publication. It is a loose comparison so may result in a display of references that are not exact matches. This allows duplicates to be found even if there are minor errors in the data.  Also, depending on the size of your RefWorks database, the Close Matches may take some time, so be patient.

Checking Your Entire RefWorks Account for Duplicate References

From the View menu select Duplicates and select either Exact Duplicates or Close Duplicates.

A list of references will be displayed.

To remove duplicates from your RefWorks account
  1. Mark the reference you wish to delete by checking the box next to the Ref ID. These selections are not saved when you go to the next page. So either make your deletions page-by-page or be sure to add the references to delete to a folder before moving to another page.

Note:  RefWorks automatically marks duplicates (the most recently added record) for deletion when the duplicate check is performed. If you have more than two copies of the record, only the most recently added record will be marked for deletion.  You can disable this automatic selection in the Customize area under the Startup Options section.

Click the Delete icon.

Checking a Folder or Subfolder for Duplicate References

  1. Click the Organize & Share Folders tab (or Organize tab).
  2. Locate the folder or subfolder you with to check for duplicates.  Click the Folder icon to the right of the folder/subfolder name.
  3. Select Duplicates from the option list and either Exact Duplicates or Close Duplicates. A list of references will be displayed.
To remove duplicates from your folder/subfolder
  1. Mark the reference you wish to delete by checking the box next to the Ref ID. These selections are not saved when you go to the next page. So either make your deletions page-by-page or be sure to add the references to delete to a folder before moving to another page. Note:  RefWorks automatically marks duplicates (the most recently added record) for deletion when the duplicate check is performed. If you have more than two copies of the record, only the most recently added record will be marked for deletion.  You can disable this automatic selection in the Customize area under the Startup Options section.
  2. Click the Delete icon.