RefWorks: Creating in-text citations or footnotes

To create a paper with in-text citations or footnotes while you write, you have to install an extra tool. Which one of the available tools you use depends on the program you use to write.

Microsoft Word 2016 or higher: RefWorks Citation Manager

When you use Microsoft Word 2016, including the cloud version Word 365, use the add-in RCM (RefWorks Citation Manager). RCM is available through the Microsoft Store. More information on how to install and use this add-in can be found in the RefWorks User Guide > RefWorks Add-ons from ExLibris. Please note: RCM is preinstalled in Word in EUR Office accounts and on EUR PCs.

Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013: Write-N-Cite

In Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013, use the add-in Write-N-Cite. You can download the add-in from your ProQuest RefWorks account under Tools > Tools > Use RefWorks add-ons for your papers > Other Word Versions: Write-n-Cite. Mac-users can check this box for more information. EUR-employees can download Write-N-Cite from the Software Centre. Please note that Write-N-Cite is being discontinued in April 2025.

Microsoft Word or other word processors: Quick Cite

A third option to add in-text citations and references in a Word document is Quick Cite. You can find this option under Create Bibliography in your RefWorks account. You will get a dialog box where you can select the reference(s) you want to use, copy the information and paste that in your Word document. At the end you can create a bibliography based on the selected references. Read the module 'Using Quick Cite' or watch this video to see how. 

Google Docs

When you use Google Docs to write and you use ProQuest RefWorks, you can use the RefWorks add-on for Google Docs. More information on how to install and use this add-on can be found in the RefWorks User Guide > RefWorks for Google Docs. 

The video Writing with RefWorks (6:28) gives an overview of the different tools RefWorks offers. 

Please note that Write-N-Cite is being discontinued in April 2025.

After installing Write-N-Cite you get a new tab in Word, called RefWorks. 

Write-N-Cite works as follows:

1. Open an empty Word-document.
2. Open the RefWorks-tab in Word, then you can see the RefWorks-ribbon. Click Log In and enter the credentials of your ProQuest RefWorks account.
3. Click Sync My Database to make sure you are using the most recent version of the content of your RefWorks account.
4. Select behind Style the output style you want to use (you can change it at any moment).
   Please note: if the style you need is not visible in the list, you have to go back to your online ProQuest RefWorks account and select the style there, in the Create Bibliography option or in the Citation View option. Then, go back to Word, click Sync My Database – then the style should become visible in the list. There is a limit of 6 styles in Write-N-Cite for ProQuest RefWorks.
5. If necessary, open the Word document you want to use.
6. Put the cursor where you want to add the in-text citation.
7. Click Insert Citation at the left side of the RefWorks ribbon and then click Insert New. The Insert/Edit Citation window opens.
8. RefWorks loads your references. You can search the reference you want to add to your text by first selecting the folder from the Folder List. You can also search by using the search bar in the upper right corner.
9. When you click a title, a 'Preview Citation' appears in your selected output style. You can mark Hide Year and/or Hide Author in the reference (for example when the name of the author is already used in the sentence). When you use a style with footnotes, mark Make Footnote.

10. Click OK.
11. The reference is entered in your text, in the format of the selected style.

Adding the bibliography

After entering the citations, the reference list isn't added automatically: you have to add the reference list yourself.

1. Put the cursor where you want to add the reference list.
2. Click in the RefWorks ribbon on Bibliography Options and click Insert Bibliography.

When you add a new reference to your text, the reference list is refreshed and the new title is added.

Please note: the automatic updating of the bibliography can slow down your Word! That’s why it’s recommended do remove the bibliography while you are writing. You can insert it any time you need it.

Referring to a particular page

If you want to refer to a particular page, and you use the APA style, you have to use the field to add the page:

Enter for example ‘, p. 25’. Click in the Prefix box to reload the Preview Citation, then the page number is added in the Preview Citation. When the information is correct, click OK.

With the Quick Cite option you can copy references in a selected output style in RefWorks and paste them in your Word document. For numbered styles, like Vancouver, Quick Cite is not an efficient option. 

To use the Quick Cite option in RefWorks:

1. In your RefWorks account, click Create Bibliography
2. Click Quick Cite – a dialog box opens.
3. Choose the style you want to use.
4. The Insert Citations tab opens: you will see the list of the references in your account. You can mark the reference you want to use, and use the button Copy Citation and then paste this in your Word document. If you want to cite more than one reference you can mark them and then copy the option on top of the screen.
5. When you are done, you can use the tab Bibliography to create the bibliography, based on the references you’ve used (the ones that get a white star in blue behind them).

More information can be found here – you have to scroll down a bit to find the section about Quick Cite.

Quick Cite is a workaround for Write-N-Cite and RefWorks Citation Manager, and please note:

• You just paste text in your Word document - there is no link with your RefWorks database.
• When you cite a reference for the second time, often the reference should look differently (for example only the first author instead of all authors). This is not applied.
• When you close your paper and return to it later, the Quick Cite option will not remember the selections made before. 
• The other RefWorks tools can’t recognize the references added via Quick Cite.

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