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RefWorks: Graduating

RefWorks helps you to collect and organise your references and automatically create bibliographies and reference lists. It comes with a Write-N-Cite add-on to help with your in-text citations.

IMPORTANT

You can keep your references after you graduate by transfering them to an Alumni RefWorks account or to alternative referencing software.

It is very important that you make arrangements to transfer your references before you actually leave the University.  It is much easier to help you with this process while you still have a University network account so that you can access the University Portal and RefWorks.

Welcome to RefWorks for University of Stirling Graduates (Alumni)

Graduates and retired members of staff of Stirling University may continue to use RefWorks through the RefWorks Alumni Program.  This is a free service for as long as the University subscribes to RefWorks.

The RefWorks Alumni Program gives you:

  • one free RefWorks Alumni Account
  • full use of RefWorks and Write-N-Cite
  • 200MB of file attachment storage
  • the ability to share your folder or account via RefShare
  • free web-based training
  • free technical support directly from RefWorks

If you already have a RefWorks database when you graduate or retire from the University you can transfer your references and folders to your new Alumni Account.

 

How to get your Alumni Account

To set up your Alumni Account you will need a Group Code see the RefWorks Alumni Handout (to view this document you will first need to enter your current computer username and password).

If you have already left the University you will need to contact the Library (e.g. use the Ask a Librarian link on the right of this page) to request your RefWorks Alumni Account.  We will send you a Group Code and instructions for creating and accessing your new account.

Before You Graduate

If you wish to transfer your existing references into your new Aumni account you will need to create a Backup which can be Restored when your new account is operational.  You need to create your Backup before you graduate or leave the University.

To Backup Your RefWorks Account

  1. Connect to the University Portal and access your RefWorks account
  2. From either the Tools or the References menu select Backup/Restore
  3. RefWorks will by default backup all of your references, attachments, RSS feeds and any styles you may have created.  If you do not wish to retain any of these you can unselect the options.
  4. Click Perform Backup
  5. You should get a download file pop-up giving you the option to save your back-up.  Click the drop-down menu on the Save button and choose Save As so that you can save the file to a drive that you can access when you wish to restore it to your Alumni account.  If you will do this after you have left the University, make sure you save it to your laptop, USB memory stick or other location that is not on the University network.

 

To Restore Your References to Your Alumni Account

  1. Login to your Refworks Alumni account
  2. From either the Tools or the References menu select Backup/Restore
  3. Click Restore

Help with RefWorks

Export to Mendeley or Other Software

An alternative to RefWorks for Alumni might be to transfer your references to other software.

The following example uses Mendeley which is currently  free (see our guide for more information about Mendeley) but there are a range of other packages.

In RefWorks select the references you wish to export, click the References menu and choose Export.  Select Bibliographic Software as the export format and export your references.  Save the file.

In the Mendeley Desktop, Go to File > Add Files ... and select the file you exported from RefWorks.  Mendeley should do the rest automatically.

Further information is available from Mendeley