You've heard of "personal shoppers." Wouldn't it be great to have help formatting your references for your research papers? Well, there are lots of tools that help with this, but one of the best -- and the one that W&M supports -- is RefWorks.
Here's how it works: first, search a database, such as Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, Philosopher's Index, or PsycINFO, and mark the sources you might use for your research paper. Go to the database's list of items that you've selected and then click the database's "Export" link. Choose RefWorks.
When the RefWorks login screen opens, register for an account (or, if you already have a RefWorks account, login).
The citations you marked will be imported into a temporary "Last Imported" RefWorks folder. Create a new folder for your research paper and move the citations there.
Repeat by searching other databases.
Then click RefWorks' "Bibliography" feature, choose the desired bibliographic style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.), and indicate which folder holds your citations. RefWorks will create your research paper's reference list -- alphabetized and in the bibliographic style you chose.
And for additional help, plan to attend a RefWorks workshop. Sessions will be held the week of November 14. Watch Swem Library's webpages for an announcement!
For more information, please visit our RefWorks webpage or ask at the reference desk.