RefWorks subscription to end

If you use the DMU’s RefWorks subscription then you need to be aware that this service will end on 31 August.

The Library team have already emailed registered users about these changes, but as a reminder, you will no longer be able to use RefWorks after 31 August. There are other, freely available reference management tools, such as Mendeley, to help you manage your references and bibliographies.

Students who don’t take action risk losing access to all of their references.

Important: What does this mean for existing RefWorks users? 

• You will need to export your references from RefWorks and import them into another reference management tool to avoid losing data. Please do this as soon as possible, and at the very latest before the end of August.  
• You will also need to manually re-insert your citations within Word documents that are currently being worked on, using your new preferred reference management tool.

Support for you

We appreciate this change can be daunting, so support is available to you.

The Library team have created a webpage providing step by step instructions for migrating references across to a new platform, and guidance on updating Word documents. The webpage also provides help for using Mendeley and a number of other ‘lite’ reference management tools.

There are also drop-in sessions available, both in person and online, for anyone who would like help in migrating to a new system. Two more formal training sessions outlining how to migrate to a new system, and a brief overview of both Mendeley are also available.

Book via the library’s workshops calendar page or contact your librarian for help.

Why are we making this change? 

There are a number of technical glitches with RefWorks, most notably around the Harvard citation styles. No action has been taken, despite raising these issues many times. Customer service from RefWorks has also declined over the last few years, and some of the functionality is cumbersome. 

Also, freely available open-source products provide the same, if not better functionality, and saves the university annual subscription costs at a time of economic challenge.

If you have any concerns or questions then please contact your librarian.