Reference Management Software

Mendeley Cite

You need Mendeley Cite in order to be able to import references into your text documents. Mendeley Cite is compatible with Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Word versions 2016 and above and with the Microsoft Word app for iPad. If you are using an earlier version of Word, you can use the existing Mendeley Citation Plugin for Word available with Mendeley Desktop.

1. Download Mendeley Cite
2. Open Word and download Mendeley Cite add-in via Insert - My Add-ins

Mendeley Web Importer

You need to install the browser extension Mendeley Web Importer in order to save references directly from web sites. The browser extension works with Chrome, Firefox och Edge.

1. Download the browser extension Mendeley Web Importer to your browser
2. When the extension is added you see it in the upper bar of your browser

Mendeley Reference Manager

Mendeley Reference Manager is a downloadable tool helping you with:

• editing and organising your references
• reading your saved documents
• making notes in your documents

Downloading Mendeley Reference Manager is not mandatory as you can use the browser version My Library in the same way. Access My Library through logging in to Mendeley.com. Both Mendeley Reference Manager and My Library sync with each other, so your saved references and edited references are visible in all versions.

Mendeley Desktop is an older version of Mendeley Reference Manager. NB. As of 1.9.2022 it is no longer possible to download Mendeley Desktop. If you have downloaded Mendeley Desktop earlier, you can continue using it. Longer term, Mendeley Desktop will be completely replaced by Mendeley Reference Manager.

This guide focuses on Mendeley Reference Manager. 

Save References Manually

You can add references manually, for instance if you have references not found online in databases:

• Choose “Add New” and "Add Manual Entry".
• Type in the details needed. If you're adding a publication that has a unique DOI, you only need to add the DOI and rest of the data will follow automatically. 

Use the Browser Extension Mendeley Web Importer

Follow these steps to save material from a database or a web site:

1. Find the material (e.g. a web site, an article) that you want to export to Mendeley
2. Open the browser extension Mendeley Web Importer
3. Log in to your Mendeley account
4. If you have created different folders in your account, choose the folder you want to use. Choose "Edit" to modify the reference details if needed 
5. Mark the references you want to import, click "Add"
6. Click “View library” or open your Mendeley Reference Manager /Mendeley Desktop. If the reference does not show in your library, click “Sync” to update.

Add RIS, XML or BibTex-files

In scientific article databases you often find an "Export"-button helping you export article references to a reference management software. In case Mendeley isn't included as an option for export, you can instead export the reference as RIS, XML or BibTex-file.

• Start by saving the reference in .bib, .xml or .ris format (RIS-format works often best for Mendeley)
• Import the file when logged in to your Mendeley account, choose "Add new" - "Import library" and the right file type
• Edit the reference details if needed

Also use this alternative if you want to export references from another reference management software to your account in Mendeley.

Watch Folder

The Watch Folder option is only available in Mendeley Desktop (the older version of Mendeley). You can enable Mendeley watch folders on your computer to automatically import the references being added in this folder to your Mendeley library. Choose File and Watch folder to let Mendeley know what folder to watch. 

NB. As of 1.9.2022 it is no longer possible to download Mendeley Desktop

Use Mendeley's own Search Function

Use the search field in Mendeley Search to find references, saved by other Mendeley users. It is, however, not possible to access all articles in full text through this function. 

1. Open Mendeley Search
2. Use the search field to find your article
3. Click "Add to library".
4. Log in to your Mendeley account (in case you weren't logged in already)
5. Edit the reference details if necessary

Google Scholar

Use Mendeley Web Importer to export references from Google Scholar. Edit the details of the reference if needed.

You can also import references as RIS-format:

1. Click the " -button
2. Choose RefMan.
3. Open Mendeley and click Add New - Import library - RIS. Choose the file from your computer.

Ebsco (Business Source Complete, EconLit och Ebsco eBook collection)

1. Find the article reference you want to export. Click Export in the menu on the right
2. Choose "Direct Export in RIS Format"
3. Click Save
4. Open Mendeley and choose Add New - Import library - RIS. Choose the file from your computer. Edit the details of the reference if needed.

Elsevier (Science Direct, Scopus)

ScienceDirect

1. Find the article reference you want to export. Choose "Add to Mendeley"
2. Mark the right article reference in the list. Edit the details of the reference if needed
3. Click Add. 

Scopus

1. Find the article reference you want to export. Click Export - Mendeley. 

ProQuest (Ebook Central)

1. Find the e-book you want to export
2. Click on Cite
3. Choose Endnot/Citavi
4. Open Mendeley and choose Add New - Import library - RIS. Choose the file from your computer. Edit the details of the reference if needed.

Double Check and Edit References

Make a habit of always double checking references imported to Mendeley. Make sure all necessary details are included, especially if you use Mendeley Web Importer. Use Hanken's referencing guide to check what details need to be included for different types of sources. It is important that the references are consistently presented.

Annotate your References

You can add sticky notes, annotate and highlight your saved documents in your Mendeley acount.

1. Find your reference. Double click to open it in full text
2. Use the tools in the menu bar to the left to annotate and highlight text

Tag your References

In the Mendeley Desktop version, you can tag references with keywords in order to make them easier to find. NB. As of 1.9.2022 it is no longer possible to download Mendeley Desktop

1. Click on a reference in your library. Fill out suitable keywords under Tags. If you use several tags, use semicolon in between the tags 
2. Use the search field to the left, "Filter by my Tags", to search and find references by your tags. Please note that most of the references have pre-defined author keywords included. You see the author keywords in the menu to the left as well, under "Filter by Author Keywords".

Edit References

To choose another style for your citation, click Citation Style and find the style you want to use. In case you want to edit your reference with details completely missing you need to login to your Mendeley account and edit the references there.

• First click on the reference in your document
• Then click on the reference in the Mendeley Cite column to the right:

• In the Edit Reference view, add specific page numbers for the citation. Check "Suppress author" if you do not want the author's names to show in the citation:

Create Bibliography

Before creating your bibliography check for duplicates in your library. 

1. Place the cursor where you want to insert the bibliography in your document.
2. Click "More" and Insert Bibliography in the Mendeley-window to the right. The bibliography will be reordered automatically every time you add a new reference to your document.
3. If you need to edit details in the bibliography, log in to your account in Mendeley and edit the references there. After editing a reference in Mendeley, return to Word and click "More" and Update From Library. This procedure is needed for the changes to become visible in your document.