At each step, you answer more detailed questions, until the exact type of source is determined, then you enter in the data. Each field has explanations and instructions; for instance, the APA title field gives general instructions about capitalization (capitalize only the first word, and any proper names), plus a link to a help page. There is an Error Check feature that highlights possible problems, but you can continue without correcting them if you don’t think there is a problem. (In my example, the publisher is Libraries Unlimited, which NoodleBib flags as a potential problem. In APA format, you leave out “business types” like Company, but in this case the name does include Unlimited, so I elect to leave it in.)

The citation is produced on a new page so that you can cut and paste into your document:

Reitz, J. M. (Ed.). (2004). Digital reference. In Online dictionary for library
     and information science. Portsmouth, NH: Libraries Unlimited. Retrieved
     December 6, 2006, from http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_d.cfm#digitalref

This tool should be very useful for students (and others) who are unfamiliar with citation formats or who are unsure about what to do with an unfamiliar type of source. The lengthy questions would probably get tedious quickly, but it would serve as a good teaching tool.

One of the complaints that I have with full bibliographic managers like RefWorks is that you need fairly extensive knowledge of citation formats in order to be sure it’s working correctly. I do a lot of fiddling with settings to get what I think is the proper format, especially for online material. NoodleBib Express would be a good starting place for those not ready for something as complicated as RefWorks.

• Book
• Work in an Anthology
• Encyclopedia Article
• Journal or Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Published Interview
• Presentation
• Web Page
• Encyclopedia (CD-ROM)
• Internet Journal or Magazine Article
• Internet Newspaper Article
• Online Subscription Database
• Recorded Interview
• Interview Conducted by Researcher
• Online Forum Posting
• Broadcast & Multimedia Productions
• Personal E-mail Message

For more information on APA, MLA, and other citations styles, try the following:

• Google search for APA Citation Style (lots of guides and examples)
• Google search for MLA Citation Style (more guides and examples)
• A good guide and list of citation styles from McGill University
• Another good guide and list of citation styles, from Syracuse University

(Don’t forget that many of our databases have citation guides, sometimes at the bottom of the article page, sometimes via a link, and sometimes in the help sections. They generally cover APA and MLA as the most commonly used citation styles.)

You must set up an account with Refworks, either via the university server or using the Group Code assigned to the university. (Contact the Reference Department for more information.) Once you have the account, you can log in from anywhere. There are no required downloads.

There is a Refworks Tutorial from Refworks, plus a Buley RefWorks Tutorial and a RefWorks QuickStart Guide designed by Buley librarians. Buley Library also offers classes on using Refworks, see http://www.library.southernct.edu/refworks.html for a schedule.

Most of the major databases allow for automatic importing of references in Refworks, though each one does it in a slightly different fashion. For most, mark the citations you want to import and go to the Save function. One option should be to save/import into bibliographic mananagement software. For databases like EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier, Refworks is a direct option. For others, like Science Direct, you must download a file in RIS format and import in 2 steps. Check the help files in the database or Refworks, contact me or the Reference Department for more information on individual databases. You can also import directly from library catalogs and PubMed through the Search function. Imports may need some editing, especially for format. Print Journal is the default for most imports. Occassionally, links will need to be moved to the URL field for proper electronic citations. You can also enter citations manually.

You can organize your citations within Refworks into folders for different projects. Since a citation can be in more than one folder, you can reuse citations in different projects. Folders provide the basis for creating Bibliographies/Reference Lists, so it is to your advantage to create a new folder for each paper/project. Citations are also searchable.

The real gem of Refworks is the ability to create Bibliographies in nearly any citation format. Bibliographies can be created from any folder of citations, and displayed or downloaded for copying into a word processor. There is also a downloadable program called Write-N-Cite which works with MS Word. Using Write-N-Cite, you create in-text citations and the bibliography is automatically generated at the end of the paper. Check the tutorials for more information, as the process is a little too complicated to cover in this review.

There are several fields to use for user notetaking. The Notes field is sometimes used by the import function for database information. However, there are 5 User fields which are also searchable, and so make very good note fields. You could use these fields for quotations you wanted to use, commentary on the article itself, or cross references to other articles, or any other notes. There is no indication of a character limit for any of these fields.

Refworks is not designed primarily for collaboration. There is a separate product, RefShare, (not subscribed to by SCSU) for collaborative efforts. However, users can assign a Read-Only password for others to view their citations, and a group could share a password, though someone still has to provide a primary email address for registration. There is no particular notice against this in the Refworks Terms of Use, but as it is a subscription service, you should not share with someone outside the university who would not be able to get their own account.

I have not seen anything else that is quite as comprehensive a bibliographic management program that is accessible over the web.