Keeping references with Mendeley

I was recently pointed to some software that is now in beta – called Mendeley – which gives you a way to store research citations and then access it from any computer. I’m still working on seeing the ways it could help with research, but so far it looks really promising!

What I like about it:

• I can upload/store a pdf file and it will automatically extract the relevant citation information (journal name, date etc)
• it will also extract the references in the article and store them
• I can use the online version as a back-up
• it is possible to create folders for references that are related
• there is a plug-in for Word which means I can add the citation as I am working on a document, and it will then create a bibliography (as does Endnote, but this is free)
• I can create a shared group so that with colleagues we can share references about a topic
• it is possible to publish my own work

I can work online or offline, and then synchronise my references with the online version; then I can go to my office computer andsynchronise also, which means I don’t have to keep sending myself emails to rememebr to update!

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