Free reference manager for researchers

Mendeley is an education and reference program specially dedicated to academics as well as researchers. Developed by Mendeley Ltd., it enables you to store, organize documents and even collaborate with others online. 

This academic social network also updates users when fresh research is added. It provides citation plug-ins for word processor tools like Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, BibTeX and supports thousands of citation styles — you can create your own as well. This is a completely free citation generator that you can download on any of your compatible Windows desktops. Alternatively, you can check out Zotero.

What is Mendeley used for?

Mendeley creates a free personal library to store all your research which then makes multiple long and complex documents easy to search. It allows you to annotate documents as you read and share them with other users for collaborative note-making. When a document is stored, the reference manager also captures key information such as author, title, and publisher which enables it to generate an instant bibliography. 

With 2GB of free and secure cloud storage, the library is easily accessible from anywhere. It actually offers paid storage plans wherein you can utilize 5GB or unlimited storage space. Further features include a web importer to add articles, and a citation plugin compatible with most word processing software that generates instant citations as you write. On its desktop version, you will be able to import, organize, and add extra content to your PDF with much ease. 

How do I use Mendeley in Word?

As mentioned, Mendeley serves citation plug-ins for various word processors program including Microsoft Word. To start using it, you must first need to download the Mendeley Cite plug-in from the Microsoft store. Once done, you will see it on the right section of your ‘References’ tab. When you click it, you will be prompted to sign in to your Mendeley account. A panel dedicated for you to search references from your library will then be opened.

Just mark the check box of the certain reference you would like to add and click the ‘Insert’ button. On the other hand, if you wish to put a bibliography on your Word document, you can do so by simply clicking the ‘More’ tab in the Mendeley Cite panel and choosing the ‘Insert Bibliography’ option. But before that, make sure that your cursor is placed at the part of the document where you want the bibliography to be input.       

Collaboration opportunities

As Mendeley can possibly be used for private storage or public communication, there are further advantages to scholars. For instance, users can search and apply for jobs online, set an alert for the latest research and pre-downloaded reading lists can be sent to specific groups making it ideal for both students and lecturers. This is a highly recommended alternative for other reference managers such as EndNote, ReadCube Papers, Zotero, and many more.