Mendeley is a programme from Elsevier that can be used free of charge, but also has a paid Premium version (not in use at Utrecht University).
Mendeley can help you with collecting, organising, citing and sharing references to (often also full text) sources (articles, books, data etc.).
If you want to start using Mendeley, install Mendeley Reference Manager.
This requires registration at Elsevier and downloading software. An Elsevier account includes all Elsevier products, such as Mendeley, Scopus and ScienceDirect.
Mendeley Reference Manager is available for Windows 7 or higher, Mac OS X 10-10 or higher, Linux and Ubuntu/Debian.
Please note: Mendeley Reference Manager is not compatible with macOS 10.15.
NOTIFICATIONS!
Are you a long time Mendeley Desktop user? Please note that, from 1 September 2022, users will no longer be able to download and install Mendeley Desktop software. Existing users of Mendeley Desktop will continue to be able to sign into, use and sync their Mendeley Desktop. Are you considering migrating to Reference Manager? Please visit the Mendeley Support Center.
Also please note: Mendeley Reference Manager, so far, has no reliable and transparant option for deduplicating!
We therefore advise against using Mendeley in research, such as for systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Source: https://youtu.be/5Mz02_xmLRs
Mendeley Support:
General
https://elsevier.libguides.com/Mendeley
https://www.mendeley.com/guides
https://service.elsevier.com/app/home/supporthub/mendeley/
https://blog.mendeley.com/
Mendeley Reference Manager
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mendeley-reference-manager
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mendeley-reference-manager/01.-your-mendeley-library
NB Mendeley Desktop can no longer be installed, but if you already have it installed you can still use it (for the time being) |
Mendeley Reference Manager
Get going:
In Mendeley Reference Manager choose under 'Collections' for 'New collection'.
Useful start page for MRM: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mendeley-reference-manager/01.-your-mendeley-library
For further information, see:
https://www.mendeley.com/download-reference-manager/windows
https://www.mendeley.com/download-reference-manager/macOS
https://www.mendeley.com/download-reference-manager/linux
Mendeley Desktop and Desktop applications can no longer be installed |
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Tips & tricks
Option 1: from the source itself
If you find an article online, you save the title data with the browser extension (Mendeley Web Importer). Preferably from the web page of the article itself, then you take along most information.
Option 2. From a ris file
Do you want all refererences found in a search engine in Mendeley or do you switch to another reference manager than Mendeley?
Please visit the website of Mendeley for more options.
Supplement/improve data
If you want to change the details of a reference, click on the relevant title and then on the field to be changed under 'Info'.
Add PDFs
Mendeley searches for PDFs of references in your collection. You will then see a Get PDF button on the info tab. The PDFs are not automatically added to your collection, this only happens after you have clicked on the button and can only be done per reference.
You can also add files yourself. On the same info tab, you'll find the option Added by me: files.
Create collections.
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mendeley-reference-manager/03.-searching-and-organizing-references
When you add a reference to a newly created folder/collection, you do not move it, but you give the reference a label. All references remain in the folder 'All References'. If you delete a folder/collection, the reference will remain available in 'All References'.
Add comments to PDFs.
Mendeley has a built-in PDF reader that allows you to annotate and highlight articles. The annotations (sticky notes) in the pdf can also be seen in Mendeley in the annotations tab.
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mendeley-reference-manager/04.-reading-and-annotating-documents
Notebook
For each reference, you can also create a notebook in which you can make notes for a publication. You can find it in the notebook tab.
Mendeley Reference Manager
Mendeley Reference Manager automatically deduplicates references on import. MRM looks at references that are already or have been in your library (previously removed references also count). You cannot stop or influence this process.
Since Mendeley Reference Manager does not have a reliable, transparent way to deduplicate, we therefore advise against using Mendeley in research, such as for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. In that case, choose another reference manager
If you still have Mendeley Desktop you can deduplicate following the steps below:
Please note: Also Mendeley Desktop can automatically deduplicate titles when importing them without your knowing. You cannot switch off this function. This means you might lose references without you wanting to. That is why Mendeley is NOT suitable for supporting systematic reviews.
For more information on deduplicating in Desktop see:
https://blog.mendeley.com/tag/deduplication/
or watch these videos:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzREf4RJ25w
Mendeley Cite
Install Mendeley Cite for Word (and Libre Office).
For more information about Mendeley Cite see the help guide, for instance about:
Sharing documents and collaborating with others can be done in 'private groups'. There is no limit to the number of private group members, but as a free user you may only create a maximum of five groups with a maximum of 25 participants.
You can add the full text of your PDF to the group so that everybody works in the same document. Everyone can highlight the text or add notes.
Private groups for Mendeley Reference Manager
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/private-groups/mendeley-reference-manager/01-adding-documents-private-group
Private groups for Desktop https://www.mendeley.com/guides/private-groups/mendeley-desktop/01-adding-documents-private-group |
N.B.: Some manuals still give information about Public Groups and invite-only groups. However, they have been cancelled as of April 2020.
Mendeley Reference Manager. Synchronising.
Mendeley Reference Manager saves all your references in the cloud (so not locally on your computer). If you are online, synchronisation is automatic and all modifications you made are saved. Hover with your mouse cursor over the sync icon to see when the most recent synchronisation took place and click on the icon to synchronise manually.
See also: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mendeley-reference-manager/07.-syncing
Please note! It is possible to add references manually off line in MRM. But make sure you regularly work online to synchronise with the cloud.
The offline use of Mendeley Reference Manager has some well-known problems. If you have problems, have a look here: https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29758/supporthub/mendeley/p/16075/
Exporting
You can also export your references to a file. This file can be imported later (or in another programme).
Go to: Mendeley Desktop of: Mendeley Reference manager for instructions.
Mendeley Desktop If you work online, Mendeley Desktop is fully synchronised with Mendeley Web. Your refererences are saved in the cloud. You can also synchronise manually by clicking on the Sync icon in Mendeley Desktop. Notes and annotations made in a group will then be available for other participants as well. See also: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/desktop/07-how-sync-works If you also regularly work off line or if you want to make sure that your library is safe in the case of an unexpected event, we recommend you to make regular backups of your Mendeley library. Also if you change accounts you must first make a backup. Go to the Help menu and click on Create Backup. Now you make a .zip file which you can save in a safe place on your computer. To restore your backup, select Restore backup in the Help menu and next Other. Browse to your (most recent) saved zip file. See also: https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/18153/p/16075/supporthub/mendeley/related/1/ NB: You can use Mendeley Desktop at the same time with Mendeley Reference Manager. If you synchronise manually in Mendeley Desktop, all changes you have made will be automatically updated in Mendeley Reference Manager. And vice versa: all changes you have made in Mendeley Reference Manager will be automatically synchronised in the cloud and will show in Mendeley Desktop after you have carried out a manual synchronisation there. |
If you have questions regarding Mendeley, please contact the University Library.