RefWorks was once the default reference manager at many universities. In 2025, a growing number of students and researchers are asking the same question on forums: is anyone still using RefWorks? The answer is often no — at least not after graduation.
Why people are leaving RefWorks
Institutional lock-in
RefWorks access is tied to your university's ProQuest subscription. When you graduate, change institutions, or your library stops paying, you typically lose access to your entire library. Years of organised references can disappear overnight.
No AI research features
RefWorks is a reference manager only. It does not:
- Search academic databases for new papers
- Synthesise literature with AI
- Build evidence tables
- Check your draft for unsupported claims
If your workflow involves finding and understanding sources — not just storing them — RefWorks feels increasingly outdated.
Cost and access barriers
Outside institutional licences, RefWorks is not a practical option for independent researchers, distance learners, or students between degrees. Free alternatives have caught up on citation management while adding capabilities RefWorks never offered.
What to look for in a RefWorks alternative
| Need | What to check | |------|----------------| | Works without institutional access | Account persists after graduation | | Finds peer-reviewed sources | Searches real academic databases | | Verified citations | No hallucinated references | | Evidence synthesis | Tables, summaries, gap analysis | | Export compatibility | BibTeX, RIS, APA, Harvard, etc. |
Scholise vs RefWorks
| Feature | RefWorks | Scholise | |---------|----------|----------| | Institutional subscription required | Yes | No — free to start | | Source search (200M+ papers) | No | Yes | | AI Research Assistant | No | Yes | | Evidence tables | No | Yes | | Draft citation check | No | Yes | | Access after graduation | Usually lost | Keeps your projects |
Scholise is not a drop-in RefWorks clone — it is an AI research workspace that handles the parts of research RefWorks never addressed: discovery, synthesis, and verification.
How to migrate from RefWorks to Scholise
- Export your RefWorks library before you lose access — use RIS or BibTeX export if your institution still allows it.
- Create a Scholise project for each assignment or thesis chapter.
- Import existing references via BibTeX, RIS, DOI, or citation text.
- Use Source Finder to discover new peer-reviewed papers for your current research question.
- Build an evidence table from saved sources to replace manual spreadsheets.
- Export references in your required citation style when you are ready to write.
You do not need to abandon reference managers entirely — many students use Scholise for discovery and export to Zotero for long-term storage.
Is RefWorks still worth using in 2025?
Only if your university provides free access and you only need reference storage with a Word plugin. For active research — literature reviews, evidence synthesis, and citation verification — Scholise is the stronger RefWorks alternative.
Try Scholise free — no institutional access required. Start researching →