RefWorks

RefWorks, part of the ProQuest and Clarivate ecosystem, is a cloud-based reference management platform built primarily for universities and libraries rather than individual researchers. Unlike tools such as Zotero or Mendeley—which prioritize personal workflows—RefWorks focuses on institution-wide access, compliance, and collaboration, making it a staple in many academic libraries.

At its core, RefWorks offers the essential features expected of a modern reference manager: citation import from databases, metadata cleanup, PDF management, note-taking, tagging, and collaboration folders. Its browser-based design eliminates installation barriers—a major advantage for universities managing hundreds or thousands of students. The platform integrates tightly with library discovery systems, link resolvers, and subscription databases, offering smoother import pipelines than many standalone managers.

RefWorks’ writing tool, RefWorks Citation Manager (RCM), works across Microsoft Word (including the web version) and Google Docs, giving users an easy way to insert citations and format bibliographies. For teaching and support teams, administrators get usage dashboards, import monitoring, and institutional management features that free tools can’t match.

However, RefWorks’ strengths in institutional alignment come with trade-offs. Compared to newer competitors, its interface can feel less modern, and researchers accustomed to tools like Zotero or ReadCube may find PDF handling and annotation less fluid. Since RefWorks follows a subscription model, individual labs rarely adopt it independently—the platform is usually licensed at the library level.

For universities aiming to provide a unified reference-management service with strong administrative control, RefWorks remains a dependable solution. For power users or computational researchers, alternatives with deeper technical integrations may be more appealing.