Mendeley, a reference manager and document organiser
Citation managers
Description: Mendeley is a software for reference management and document organisation to help researchers sort and share scholarly articles. Users can create a personal library of academic papers by importing references from various sources, such as online databases or PDF files. Mendeley allows organising references into folders, annotating documents, and generating citations and bibliographies in various citation styles. It also allows collaboration between users in projects stored on the cloud. Mendeley offers a limited free version and requires users to sign up for an account for use. It has both browser and application versions, together with add-ins for browsers. Mendeley was developed by a company of the same name, initially founded by three PhD students in 2007, and later acquired by Elsevier.
Evaluation: Mendeley is a useful tool to organise research projects. It can be used by researchers, academics, students, and professionals across various disciplines to organise research materials, collaborate with peers, and generate citations for academic writing and publications. Mendeley is particularly useful for conducting literature reviews and is suitable for collaborative research. Average IT skills are required.
Cost: Free with registration + paid plans available.
Usability and tech notes ▼
Time efficiency 
Time needed to learn how to use a tool and its time-saving potential: High.
Interface language(s) The number of languages in which the tool is currently available/adaptable to: English. However, it features citation styles in dozens of languages.
Respect for privacy What data does the tool collect and why? What security measures are there? GDPR compliant? : High. Elsevier, which owns and develops Mendeley, collects personal data but claims to do so only to facilitate efficiency and productivity in research. Elsevier mentions that precautions are taken to safeguard personal information through technical and organisational measures. It acknowledges users’ rights to request data access, correction, and deletion, providing some degree of user control. Mendeley states compliance with the GDPR. See more here.
Saving work for future use Can work be saved for future use?: Yes, login required.
Any other relevant information:
- Installation required?: Yes.
- Compatibility/ Operating System: Windows, Mac, Linux.