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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.

Essential: upgrade to new RefWorks before creating an Alumni account..

IMPORTANT - Upgrade to New RefWorks

Legacy RefWorks is being retired in 2023 and will not be available after 30th June. If you are not already using new RefWorks (https://refworks.proquest.com/you must upgrade your account before you create an  Alumni account..

- In Legacy RefWorks click the 'Upgrade to the latest version of RefWorks' button which is at top right of screen .

- Alternatively, create an account for New RefWorks and Import your references from Legacy (your folder structure will be retained and PDFs etc. imported).

Note: if you use Write-N-Cite to create in-text citations from RefWorks in your Word document it is best to complete your document before upgrading. If you do need to do the upgrade before your document is complete, take a backup copy before working on it with the new version. See Upgrade a Write-N-Cite document and contact the Library for guidance.

See more guidance on Upgrading from Legacy to New RefWorks and also how to Upgrade a Write-N-Cite document.

How to keep your RefWorks references when leaving the University

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.

Note: if you wish create an alumni RefWorks account, you must first upgrade to new Refworks as the legacy version is being withdrawn. 

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 continues to subscribe 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

As an alumni you may continue to use RefWorks through the RefWorks Alumni Program for as long as the University continues to subscribe to RefWorks.

As the legacy version of RefWorks is being retired, you must upgrade to new RefWorks before creating your Alumni account.

 

Once you have upgraded to new RefWorks you can create your Alumi account.

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.

Note - if you wish to preserve your RefWorks folder structure you must export one folder at a time.

Click the References menu and choose Export.  Select Bibliographic Software as the export format and export your references.

  • To export all references in your RefWorks library click Export File.
  • Alternatively, to export a single folder, select on the folder you want prior to clicking Export 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 the Mendeley migration guide.