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Citing Sources and Research Tips: Mendeley

Mendeley

Mendeley is a browser based application (sort of like Google Docs), you don't have to open an application on a computer to access your account. However, Mendeley works best when you do have a "primary computer" with a downloaded Mendeley application to which your account can sync. It works well to download the application to one computer, but then sign in to the browser application on any other computer.

Mendeley is owned by Elsevier company, which also promotes many scholarly publications. This means you may receive article recommendations and suggestions from Elsevier publishers. This can be positive, but non-Elsevier published articles are less likely to be pushed your way and you'll have to discover those in other ways. 

 

Step 1: Register for a free Mendeley account. https://www.mendeley.com/

Step 2: Download Mendeley application to a "primary computer."

Step 3: Add Browser Extension or Plug-in, such as https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mendeley-web-importer/dagcmkpagjlhakfdhnbomgmjdpkdklff?hl=en 

Step 4: Add Mendeley Plug-in for Microsoft Word 

Collecting Articles from Databases

  1. Create Folders or Groups to organize your collected sources.
  2. Highlight the name of the Folder in your Mendeley library to which you’d like to add articles.
  3. Go to the Nicholson Library website.
  4. Select a database from the A-Z database list.
  5. Search for your topic of interest.
  6. Select a full-text article of your choice.
  7. Click the Mendeley Extension icon in the upper right corner of your browser.
  8. In the Extension, choose the Folder or Group, and check the article to save.
  9. Or, Download PDF from other sources, and in Mendeley click "Add New" and "Files from Computer"

You can create references and citations in two ways:

In Mendeley Application on your Primary computer, you can select individual or groups of sources, right click and select "Copy as Citation". Then, you can paste those notes into your word processor of choice. Once pasted, these citations are no longer connected to Mendeley, and you can manually change them or delete them.

In Microsoft Word, if you have installed the Mendeley Plug-in, you can click the plug in and click "Add Citation" for in-text citations. Then, at the end of your document, click "Add References" and Word will automatically format all references you've added throughout your document. You can change citations styles and Word will automatically update the styles.

Ask a Librarian:

James Bell is the Library's Mendeley trainer. You can find James in the Library or by email: jcbell@anderson.edu