Do I really have to delete duplicates? Is it okay to insert citations with two different records for a single reference?

I wish I could say that it would be okay to keep duplicates, but, unforunately, using both members of a duplicate pair of RefWorks records to insert citations in a single paper does cause major problems. The reference will be listed twice in your bibliography, and, if you are using a numbered in-text citation style like the NEJM or AMA style, the in-text citations created using the different members of the duplicate RefWorks record pair will get different reference numbers.

Because of these potential problems, it's best to check for duplicate records every time you bring a new set of references into RefWorks-- do this immediately after importing the references.

If you organize your references in folders, I would recommend turning off the RefWorks' automatic duplicate marking feature to make the duplicate deletion process easier. To turn off the automatic duplicate marking, use the RefWorks "Tools" menu to select "Customize", mark "No" next to "Automatically mark duplicates" and then click on the "Save" button at the bottom of the page. There are many reasons to turn off the automatic marking. One of these is that both members of a duplicate pair or the wrong members of a duplicate pair (the older members) are sometimes marked for deletion. Also putting references you wish to keep into additional folders before deleting the newer pair members is made much more difficult by automatic duplicate marking.

To check for duplicates, as you probably know, you use the RefWorks "View" menu to select "Duplicates" and then either "exact match" or "close match". Check the duplicate pairs that are lined up by RefWorks to make sure they are really duplicates. You will usually want to keep the pair member with the lower Ref ID number as you might you have already used this pair member to insert a citation. Check to be sure that this pair member is represented in the folder into which the pair member that you plan to delete was imported. If not, you can put the older pair member(the member you plan to keep) in the additional folder by checking the box in front of the older pair member and using the "Put in folder" drop-down menu to select the folder in which the newer pair member is housed. Finally, decheck the references you wish to keep and check the pair members that you need to delete (usually the members with the higher ref ID numbers are deleted), and then click on the "delete" button. Deleted references can be accessed and restored for 30 days. To access deleted references hover over the "Folders" menu , then hover over "View", and select "deleted references" in the submenu that appears.

Can I export my references out of RefWorks so that the Abstract is printed?

If you just need a formatted reference list of references that includes abstracts, try the instructions below.

1. Log into your RefWorks account.
2. Click on the "Tools" menu.
3. Select "Output Style Manager"
4. After reaching the "output Style Manger" page, add the following 3 output styles -- "APA 5th -- Annotated with abstracts.....", "APA 6th -- Annotated with abstracts.....", and "Abstract View -- UNMC" -- to your list of favorites. (To add a style to your favorites list, select the style from the "Choose Output Style" box and click on the "Add to Favorites" button)
5. Click on RefWorks' "Bibliography" button/menu
6. When you reach the "Bibliography" page, use the "Output Style" drop-down menu to select one of the three styles you just added to your favorites list.
7. Click on the circle/radiobutton next to "Format a Bibliography from a List of References". You can then choose to have the reference list created in Word or in html (html is faster) and you can choose which group of references you want to format.
8. When you have made all choices make sure all pop-up blockers are turned off and click the "Create Bibliography" button.

If these instructions don't give you the output you need, let me (Cindy Schmidt) know. I can create an output style that will produce almost any kind of output you might want. There are also export options that allow you to import data (including abstracts) into an Excel spreadsheet. Using the Excel spreadsheet various types of tables can be created.

How can I import references from a .doc file to refworks?

I am assuming that you need to import records corresponding to the references listed in a .doc file. If the references refer to biomedical journal articles indexed by MEDLINE, it will probably be easiest to:
1. (a) Open your .doc and (b) open an internet browser and log into your RefWorks account.
2. use the RefWorks "Search" menu to select "Online Catalog or database"
3. highlight and copy an article title from the list of references in your .doc
4. paste the title in the "Quick Search" box on the RefWorks "Online Catalog or Database" page. If the article title is rather generic (e.g. "Treating Osteoporosis"), type in one or more authors names also. Separate the title and each author's name by AND. For example:
Treating Osteoporosis AND Smith AND Stassen AND Flint
(It is important that the "AND"s be in all caps. Correct spelling is also vital.)
5. Hit the "Search" button.
6. A pop-up window or new tab will appear. This page will contain the results for the search you entered.
7. Click the box for the reference you wish to import.
8. Use the "Import" button or the "Import to Folder" drop down menu to bring the record into your account. You will be asked if you're sure you want to import the reference and you will have to okay that action.
9. Repeat steps 3-8 for each of the listed references.

I want RefWorks to re-use the RefID numbers that had been used by the 2000 references I just deleted. How can I make it re-use these RefID numbers?

You cannot make RefWorks reuse the RefID numbers that had been used for references that have now been deleted.

In fact, it's important that these numbers NOT be re-used. Ref ID numbers are the primary way RefWorks identifies the citations you wish to insert in your documents. Let's say you insert a citation for the reference with RefID 6000 in a paper. Let's further suppose that, while using RefWorks to check for duplicates, you delete the reference with RefID 6000 by mistake. Because RefWorks doesn't reuse RefID's, when you format your paper, you will be told that RefID 6000 doesn't exist. You will be able to look at the code for RefID 6000 to determine what reference you wished to insert, and you will be able to fix the problem by citing the new record for the reference or by restoring RefID 6000 from the "Deleted References" location. If RefWorks reused RefID's, Ref ID 6000 might have been assigned to a new reference and that incorrect citation/reference would have been inserted in your paper.

If you want to start an account from scratch (starting with RefID 1), you can create a new account and import the records into that account. However, you will never be able to get an account that re-uses the RefID's for deleted references. (Other bibliographic management programs have this same prohibition on re-using the automatically assigned numbers).

APA, 6th edition

APA 6th edition is available in RefWorks now. To make the style available when formatting a paper:
1. Go to "Tools" and select "Output Style Manager" .
2. When the "Output Style Manager" page appears, search for , or scroll down to, "APA 6th -- American Psychological Association, 6th Edition"
3. Click on "APA 6th -- American Psychological Association, 6th Edition" and click "Add to Favorites".

You can change your APA preview in RefWorks from 5th to 6th edition by using the "Tools" menu to select the "Customize" page. In the "Reference List Options" section under "Output Styeles Choices for Reference View" change your APA 5th choice to APA 6th.
Please pass the information on to anyone you think may be interested.