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RefWorks: Creating Bibliographies (Legacy RefWorks)

Creating Bibliographies

To create a bibliography in RefWorks:

  1. Choose "Bibliography" from the top navigation menu.
  2. Hit the "Create Bibliography" button.
  3. Click on the drop-down menu of output styles and choose the one required for your paper. Popular citation styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago Style and Turabian, will show up at the top of the list under "Bowling Green State University Specific."

Legacy RefWorks highlighting the bibliography button and options to create the bibliography

After choosing the style for your bibliography:

  1. Under Format a Bibliography from a List of References, select the file format you wish to create next to File Type: Text, HTML, RTF (Rich Text), Word for Windows (2000 or later), Word for Mac (98 or later) or OpenOffice (.odt).
  2. Under References to Include, select All References or My List or choose one of your folders to use all references in that folder.
  3. Click Create Bibliography.

Formatting a Paper and Bibliography

To insert insert references and a bibliography into a paper:

  • Click the Bibliography button in RefWorks.
  • Choose the citation format (e.g., MLA, APA) from the Output Style pull down menu.
  • Select Format Paper and Bibliography.
  • Use the Browse button to find and select your paper.
  • Click Create Bibliography. RefWorks will automatically add your references and bibliograhy.

See Working with Footnotes and Endnotes for more information.

Bibliographies FAQs

Where are my RefWorks bibliographies stored?
On the RefWorks server.

Why does my bibliography have incorrect data in the output document?
The output format takes the data from a particular field and inserts it into the bibliography. If the data in the field is incorrect it will appear to be wrong in the output format. For instance, you may see a book title that has [Monograph] after it. Journal titles may also show an extra tag regarding volume numbers. The problem may be with the way the data is imported rather than with the output format. Always check that the data in the database is correct before formatting a bibliography. If it is incorrect, you may edit the data yourself.

I want to write my paper off line. How do I print out a list of references with RefIDs?

  1. Under "References," choose "Export."
  2. Select the folder with the references you want to use.
  3. Next to "Export Format," select Citation List (which includes the refID, author, title, and year).
  4. Click Export - the file will open as a Text File.
  5. Save or print the file.