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Citation Ethics and Citation Managers: Mendeley

Citations are a necessary part of academic writing, but they can also be frustrating. This site will help you figure out when you need to cite, why we cite, how citation managers can help you both manage and cite sources, and where to go to learn more.

Introduction to Mendeley

Mendeley is a free citation manager available from mendeley.com. Please note that you do not need to choose an institutional login; the software is free and Virginia Tech does not have an institutional license. It exists in both a desktop version and an online version. What makes Mendeley unique is that it's also a social network for academics. In addition, Mendeley suggests new citations to you based on what's in your library already. It also allows you the chance to share your library with others as well as annotate PDFs. 

 

Getting Started with Mendeley Workshop

Can I import references from a reference list?

If you have a list of references in a document and would like to get them into Mendeley, you can use AnyStyle.io to convert the references into a file that can be imported into Mendeley. Just follow the directions on the site and save the references to BibTeX format. Download the file, and then in Mendeley, go to File -- Import -- BibTeX. Select the file from your downloads and click Open. The reference will be added to your Mendeley library. Remember to check over the references after they've been added to Mendeley to make sure they're correct. 

Need additional help?

For additional help using Mendeley at Newman Library, contact mendeley-support-g@vt.edu. Please included a detailed description of the problem you're experiencing, as well as any screenshots of the error. When sending an email from Outlook, be sure you're sending it from an @vt.edu address, not a @exchange.vt.edu address; messages from @exchange.vt.edu addresses will not go through. You can also sign up for a virtual consultation here (select Citation Managers from the list of topics). 

You can also check out Mendeley's own support forums: http://support.mendeley.com/.