How To Use Mendeley (Including Web Importer & Cite) - Full Tutorial With Examples

Main ideas and concepts

• Purpose of Mendeley: A free reference manager that helps automate citation and bibliography formatting, reducing time and errors.
• Core workflow:
  1. Register and install required tools/plugins
  2. Add references into the Mendeley library
  3. Organize and manage that library (collections, tags, notes, etc.)
  4. Insert citations and generate a bibliography inside Microsoft Word using the Mendeley Word plugin.

Methodology / Step-by-step instructions (detailed)

1) Get set up (tools required)

• Create a free Mendeley account

  • Visit the Mendeley site and click “Create account”
  • Enter required details

• Install the Mendeley Web Importer (browser plugin)

  • Add the plugin to your browser (Chrome/Firefox)
  • Use it to quickly add web resources (journal pages, articles, general pages) to your Mendeley library

• Install the Mendeley Site plugin for Microsoft Word

  • Connects reference metadata in Mendeley with Word for citation insertion

• Optional: Desktop app

  • The video emphasizes using the web version for simplicity and cloud synchronization
  • Desktop use is still compatible with the tutorial workflow

2) Understand the Mendeley library interface

• Go to the Library

  • Via mendeley.com/library or the Library button on the main site

• Left-side menu: filters

  • Commonly All references
  • Also recently added, favorites, etc.

• Collections

  • Act like folders for organizing papers by any chosen system (variables, disciplines, themes, etc.)

• Groups

  • Enables collaboration and sharing of references with up to 25 people (as stated at time of recording)

• Notebook

  • General notes (called pages) not tied to specific references

• Annotations

  • Notes tied to specific resources and/or specific parts of a PDF (viewer interaction)

3) Add reference data to your Mendeley library (4 main methods)

• A) Manually enter references

  • Click Add new → Add entry manually
  • Enter fields such as author, date, title, etc.
  • Field options change depending on the resource type (e.g., TV broadcast vs. journal article)
  • Faster option: use identifiers like DOI or PubMed ID to auto-populate metadata

• B) Upload a PDF

  • Best when you have a PDF (often journal articles)
  • Mendeley can auto-populate fields from the PDF metadata
  • Always double-check imported/auto-filled data
  • Benefits:
    • Keeps the PDF inside Mendeley
    • Enables highlights and in-PDF notes/annotations

• C) Use the Web Importer

  • Visit a resource page in your browser (news/journal page)
  • Click the Mendeley icon in the browser’s top-right area
  • Add to the library and optionally assign to a collection/group
  • Verify imported data (especially for general web pages, which may have missing metadata)

• D) Use Mendeley’s search engine

  • Go to mendeley.com/search
  • Similar to Google Scholar:
    • Search by article title/journal info/keywords
    • Filter by date, resource type, etc.
  • Use Add to library for selected results
  • Often allows access to full PDFs

4) Import an existing library from other tools (if needed)

• Use Add new → Import library
• Supported import formats:
  • BibTeX
  • EndNote
  • RIS

5) Organize and manage references effectively

• Favorites

  • Click the star next to an author/resource
  • Filter/select favorites from the left menu

• Tags

  • Create multiple tags
  • Apply one or multiple tags to resources
  • Use top filters (including filtering by author) to quickly find tagged items

• Collections

  • Create collections and drag-and-drop resources into them
  • Resources always remain visible in All references

• Literature review tracking (recommended extra system)

  • For large projects, use a custom “literature catalog spreadsheet”
  • Helps track metadata attributes (methodology, context, etc.)

• Groups (collaboration)

  • Create group: New group
  • Manage members via three-dot menu → manage group
  • Add references by dragging from All references into the group
  • Sharing to a group does not remove items from All references

• Notebook and notes

  • Create general notes (Notebook → new page)
  • Export notes as RTF files for printing or storage

• Annotations

  • Select a specific resource → add an annotation
  • For PDFs: place notes in specific sections using the viewer’s notes mode

• Highlighting

  • Use the highlighter tool to highlight text in different colors within the PDF

6) Use Mendeley in Microsoft Word (citations + bibliography)

• Open the Mendeley plugin inside Word

  • Located in References tab or sometimes Add-ins tab
  • First time: log in to Mendeley
  • A sidebar appears with a “mini” version of the Mendeley library

• Set citation style

  • In Word, use Citation settings
  • Click Change citation style
  • Choose required style (e.g., APA or Harvard)
  • If not available, search for additional styles
  • Can add custom styles if provided in Mendeley format

• Insert in-text citations

  • Place cursor where citation should go
  • In the Mendeley sidebar, tick/select the resource(s)
  • Click Insert
  • Default format: parenthetical (brackets/parentheses)
  • Narrative style:
    • Edit in the document text, but keep the citation box so Mendeley recognizes it
  • Use Word-side search and filtering (favorites, collections, etc.) to find sources

• Insert bibliography / reference list

  • Go to the location in the document where the reference list should appear
  • In Mendeley plugin menu: Insert bibliography
  • Mendeley generates a formatted bibliography based on the cited resources and selected citation style

• Final check

  • Ensure reference metadata was correct when added to Mendeley
  • Remaining formatting adjustments (example mentioned):
    • Line spacing as required by the university (APA/MLA often require double spacing)

Speakers / sources featured (as named in subtitles)

• Derek (host/instructor; “hey Derek here from gradcoach”)
• GradCoach (channel/source referenced as “grad coach Channel”)
• Mendeley (software/platform referenced throughout)
• Microsoft Word (platform referenced for integration)