Off The Shelf

Many learners (and Capella librarians) choose to use Google as their primary search engine.  Google offers a toolbar with lots of useful features, but recently it has come to our attention that the Google toolbar blocks access to RefWorks.  As many learners know, RefWorks is a very useful tool that helps store citations and prepare reference lists.  For more information on RefWorks, please see:  Capella’s RefWorks page.

So the next time you run into a RefWorks problem, first check to see if you’re using the Google toolbar.  Hopefully, this will help save time and stress when you’re working on your next course assignment.

Our new tutorial Finding Resources for Your Literature Review is a comprehensive overview of specific search techniques you can use to assure you leave “No Stone Unturned” in finding everything available on your topic for your literature review.

The tutorial includes the following new media pieces:

Defining Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Resources

Keyword Searching for your Literature Review

Bibliographic Mining and Cited Reference Searching

Using Dissertations for Research 

Searching by Methodology

It also includes a NEW tutorial on RefWorks that shows you how to sign up for an account, store, organize and print APA formatted references of your citations.

Check out these new resources and let us know what you think!

Robin

Learners have been inquiring about RefMobile, a newer RefWorks mobile version that allows you to access your RefWorks account with your mobile device.  I decided I’d give it a try and see what all the buzz was about with my iPod Touch.

I found this guide very helpful when I first tried RefMobile and started learning its features: Working with RefMobile.  From that guide it outlines the features of RefMobile and links to guides showing you how each feature works:

• Searching within your RefWorks account
• Viewing ALL references and file attachments (if the attachment type is supported by your mobile device)
• Viewing references by folder
• Adding or removing references to/from a folder
• Creating new folders
• Entering new references via SmartAdd — which locates references on the web when you enter an ISBN, DOI, PubMed ID (PMID), first author and pub year, or partial title
• Adding comments or text to the Notes field of your references

So if your mobile device can access the Internet, then you can utilize RefMobile.  Just point your web browser to www.refworks.com/mobile and have a go!

-Sommer

Sometimes learners ask us about creating a MyEBSCOhost account, which allows you to add articles to folders in EBSCOhost databases to be retrieved later.  Often this topic comes up because a learner was adding articles to a folder without creating and logging in to a MyEBSCOhost account, which then would cause the articles to disappear from the folder once you close your browser.  If you’re curious about creating an account, then check out the MyEBSCOhost guide.

Erin recently blogged about a new feature in MyEBSCOhost that allows you to add notes.  You can also add notes in RefWorks for individual articles.  Check out the RefWorks Basic Guide, which shows you how to Create an Annotated Bibliography.  Just follow the instructions to Create an Annotation to add your notes.

If you already have a MyEBSCOhost account you can easily transfer all of your references to RefWorks.  Just follow the steps on the Exporting from Library Databases guide for EBSCOhost databases and export from your MyEBSCOhost folders.  You have to option when you export to RefWorks to delete the articles from your MyEBSCOhost folder or leave them there, so you can either continue to keep them in both places if you like.

Hungry to learn more about RefWorks?  Check out one of our RefWorks Online Seminars.  Just go to the RefWorks Information Page (linked as RefWorks from the Library Homepage) to register!

-Sommer

Erika and I conducted the first Capella University Library RefWorks online seminar today, and we’ve scheduled some upcoming sessions that you can register at the RefWorks information page (linked from the Library Homepage). Just click on the Sign up for a live RefWorks online seminar! link.

At the session we cover the following:

1. Creating a personal account
2. Getting references into RefWorks
3. Organizing with folders
4. Navigating RefWorks
5. Building APA Bibliographies

In the meantime, check out these recommended RefWorks guides:

• RefWorks Basic Features
• Importing from the Library Databases

Questions? Ask a Librarian!

-Sommer

RefWorks is a web-based citation manager that allows you to store, organize and create bibliographies from the articles you have located in the Capella Library and other resources. If you are not using it now and want to find out more click here to access information on signing up for a free account.

If you are currently using RefWorks or plan to sign-up you may not be aware of  a feature called RefShare. This feature allows you to create a link to a particular folder of  articles and you can send that link to others to view.

Here is a link from my RefWorks account for some research I did on the TEACH Act:

I can email this link and others can view the articles, but they can not alter the list unless I give them permission.  Pretty neat huh?

Want more on information on how this works, it was surprisingly easy.  Here is a link to a handout and the last section on the last page shows how to share articles with others using RefShare. Click here.

So start sharing your article searching brillance with your peers! If you have any questions on using this RefShare  please contact a Capella Librarian.

Robin

Great news! You can now export Ebrary ebooks to your RefWorks account. If you haven’t already heard us rave about RefWorks, then be sure to check out our blog posts about RefWorks.

Below are the instructions for first enabling RefWorks function in ebrary, followed by the export directions for a single ebook or for exporting your entire Ebrary Bookshelf. I found these directions by clicking on Help in the Ebrary database. (Directions modified somewhat.)

Enabling EndNote or RefWorks

You must enable integration with EndNote or RefWorks before ebrary displays the buttons that support the feature. (You only have to do this one time and then you’ll be able to export every time you use ebrary.)

1. Click My Settings, located to the right of the language choice drop-down menu.
2. In the Managing Bibliographic Information area, click the Show EndNote buttons check box, the Show Refworks buttons check box, or both.

By default, no buttons are displayed.

3. The next time you perform a search, go to your bookshelf, or use the InfoTools drop-down menu while viewing a book, you can export the citation information.

Saving Bibliographical Information With RefWorks

RefWorks is an online research management, writing, and collaboration tool that you use over the Internet. Before you can save bibliographic data using RefWorks, you must create an account with RefWorks.

To save bibliographic data for a single document:

You have these choices:

• Click the RefWorks button below the document on the search results page.
• Open the document in the ebrary QuickView Reader and choose InfoTools > RefWorks.

RefWorks imports bibliographic information about the document. If you are not logged in to RefWorks, RefWorks prompts you to log in first.

Note: The prompt from RefWorks might be displayed in a different tab or browser window.

To save bibliographic data for all documents in a bookshelf folder:

1. Sign in to ebrary. Select the Bookshelf tab. You must be signed in to view your bookshelf.
2. Select a folder you have created. You can only save bibliographic information for documents in your folders.
3. Click the RefWorks button.

RefWorks imports bibliographic information for each document in the folder. If you are not logged in to RefWorks, RefWorks prompts you to log in first.

-Sommer

I was using my RefWorks account today when I discovered the following advertisement announcing that RefWorks “is now on Facebook & Twitter!”

I have been avoiding setting up a Twitter account, but decided it was time to take a look at how it might be useful to me in a professional capacity. It turns out they “tweet” many useful pieces of information, such as announcements of their upcoming webinars for learning how to use various functions and features of RefWorks, as well as links to interesting articles and related information.

They post the same information on their Facebook account as status updates so you don’t have to do both if you prefer one application over the other. If you’re interested in checking out what RefWorks is up to in the Social Networking realm, then check out this website: Can’t Get Enough of RefWorks?

-Sommer

Hi All -

I am at the Phoenix PhD Colloquium this week and a learner asked me for some suggestions on setting up a naming system for her folders in RefWorks. One of the first ways that comes to mind is to create folders by a course number or name of the assignment,  and also by subject .  You can then put on article in multiple folders. That way you have your articles organized for your coursework and also by subject for when you work on your comprehensive exams and dissertations. 

What is nice about RefWorks is that you don’t need to come up with the perfect system to start.  RefWorks has very sophisticated ways to search for articles under the Search menu at the top of the RefWorks page. You can search by topic, author, journal title and many other options. So even if you only remember a few details about an article you can locate it. You can also always create, rename or delete folders using the Organize Folders link under the Folders menu in RefWorks.

If you have further questions on setting up folders or using the search function in RefWorks check the handouts RefWorks Basic Features  and RefWorks Advanced Features. Or Ask-a-Libarian.

What is your strategy for naming your folders in RefWorks?

Robin

We have gotten several calls in the library recently about adding articles to folders in our library databases, leaving the database believing the articles will be saved for later, then returning only to find that all the “saved” articles had disappeared.

Unfortunately, the Folder feature in the databases is misleading. And as these learners found out, the majority of our library databases will not save your marked articles once you end your session. The folders in the databases are for use only during your search session, at the end of which you can print, email, or save your marked articles in another location (your hard drive, flash drive, etc.)  You also have the ability to export the citations of the articles you found directly into RefWorks. 

RefWorks is the method we recommend for saving articles over a period of time.  At its most basic, RefWorks will keep track of your article citations and maintain links to retrieve the full-text of your articles.

For more RefWorks info, check out these blog posts: 

•  RefWorks Gets Applause in Dallas
• Why Use RefWorks?

To begin using RefWorks to organize and maintain your citations, check out the resources we have available on the library’s RefWorks page and create your free account.  There is a media piece on the right-hand side as well as several Basic and Advanced Features guides that will help you get started.  If you get stuck or need assistance, just give us a call.  We’re happy to walk you through RefWorks over the phone.

There is another way to maintain access to articles you’ve put in a folder, but only when using the EBSCOhost databases.  EBSCO allows you to create a personal account using My EBSCOhost.  This is a free service, you just need to take a minute or two to set up your account.  Once you are signed in, any articles you put in a folder will be saved for you, as well as previous searches you tried, etc.

- Jennie