Ask Us!: ASC

To transfer your references from RefWorks and add them to Academic Writer, watch the following video, or follow the steps outlined below:

1. Login to your RefWorks account.
2. Click on the All References tab on the left menu. Select the Share icon in the top navigation and click on the Export References option.                               
3. Under the Export References option, click on All References or Selected References that you wish to transfer to Academic Writer. Select RIS Format under the Format option and click Export.                                                                                      
4. RefWorks will provide a message acknowledging that your RIS Format file has been successfully downloaded. Depending on your browser, you may see the file in your window, or check your computer's Downloads folder.                                                          
5. Login to your Academic Writer account. 
6. Click on Add References.                                             
7. Select the Import tab.                                               
8. Under Choose RIS file origin, select RefWorks. Under Upload RIS file, click Choose File. Your file should be located in the Downloads folder on your computer and should be titled Export.ris. Click Open to finalize upload, and click Submit in the Academic Writer window.                              
9. A progress bar will display the status of your import.                                              
10. You will receive a message displaying the number of references successfully imported. NOTE: Some reference types are not compatible with Academic Writer forms and will not import. This might be because important information was missing, because Academic Writer could not determine what type of reference was in the file, or because the file type does not match what was indicated. You can view records that were not successfully imported by clicking on the View Records Not Imported tab. In such cases, you may need to add references manually in Academic Writer that were not successfully imported. 

*As part of our commitment to providing reliable, accessible, and forward-looking research tools, the NU Library will be transitioning away from RefWorks at the end of this year (12/31/2025). We’re excited to support our community in making the move to Zotero, a powerful, user-friendly citation manager that’s widely used across academic institutions and ensures continued access after graduation: https://resources.nu.edu/zotero We will be offering additional webinars in the coming weeks for those of you who would like to export your files from Refworks to Zotero. If you decide Zotero isn't for you, we'll provide information on other citation management options. We’re here to help you make the most of your research tools—now and in the future!