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Mendeley

A General Note About Using Mendeley

Mendeley depends on the database you’re using to provide the appropriate metadata in order to create a citation. Different databases have different levels of metadata and different ways of organizing their metadata, which is why choosing the correct source for the bibliographic files you import into Mendeley matters - unless you use Direct Export, in which case the system decides this step for you. 

Different databases also have different levels of quality for metadata, so if you’re finding that some databases don’t provide all the information you need for a complete citation, you can 1) look to see if you are choosing the correct source for importing, 2) look to see if the missing information is incorrectly living in a different field, or 3) provide the missing information yourself. 

Remember that in the end, you are responsible for the quality of your citations so make sure that they are complete and correct to the best of your ability. If you’re having trouble don’t hesitate to look at the physical or virtual style guides that we have at the library. You can also email, chat, or come talk to your librarians. We are here to help!

Importing References into Mendeley Web

NOTE: You need the Web Importer plug-in in order to get references from PubMed into Mendeley Web. PubMed will only create .nbib files, which Mendeley Web cannot read. 

  1. Click into the reference you want to export.
  2. Once you are in the record, click on the "Mendeley Web Importer" icon in your browser navbar. 
  3. Click on the folder icon to choose where you want the imported reference to live. Otherwise, all references will be imported into the "All Documents" folder.
  4. Click on the "+ Add to Mendeley" button.
    • NOTE: If there are other suggested references on the page, Mendeley Web Importer will also list them as well in case you want to import them too.
  1. Select the references you want to export.
  2. Click on the Export button.
  3. Select "RIS format (Mendeley, EndNote)" from the "Choose a format" drop-down menu.
  4. Click the Export button.
  5. Click the Download button.
  6. In your Mendeley Web account, click on the "+ Add" button at the top of the left sidebar.
  7. Select the "Import RIS (.ris)" option from the drop-down menu.
  8. Select the .ris file that Embase generated for you.
  9. Click the Open button.
  10. Mendeley Web will use the metadata available from Embase to save your reference in the "All Documents" folder.
  1. Search an EBSCO database (CINAHL, Health Business Elite, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection, etc.) or the HSL Discovery Search.
  2. Add the references you want to use by clicking on the folder icon next to each record.
  3. Click on the "Folder View" link in the right sidebar.
  4. Check the "Select / deselect all" checkbox.
  5. Click the Export link in the right sidebar.
  6. Click the "Direct Export in RIS Format" button under the "Save citations to a file formatted for:" section on the right-hand side.
  7. Click the Save button.
  8. In your Mendeley Web account, click on the "+ Add" button at the top of the left sidebar.
  9. Select the "Import RIS (.ris)" option from the drop-down menu.
  10. Select the .ris file that the database generated for you.
  11. Click the Open button.
  12. Mendeley Web will use the metadata available from the database to save your reference in the "All Documents" folder.
  1. When you find an item you want to use in the library catalog search results, click into that record.
  2. Click the "Save record" link in the right sidebar.
  3. Select RIS from the drop-down menu.
  4. In your Mendeley Web account, click on the "+ Add" button at the top of the left sidebar.
  5. Select the "Import RIS (.ris)" option from the drop-down menu.
  6. Select the .ris file that the catalog generated for you.
  7. Click the Open button.
  8. Mendeley Web will use the metadata available from the catalog to save your reference in the "All Documents" folder.
  1. Select the references you want to import.
  2. Click on the "Export selected citation(s)" link at the top of the search results page.
  3. Click on the Mendeley link under the "Save citation to:" section.
  4. If you want the abstract for each reference, check off the "Include abstract" checkbox at the bottom of the window.
  5. Click the Download button.
  6. In your Mendeley Web account, click on the "+ Add" button at the top of the left sidebar.
  7. Select the "Import RIS (.ris)" option from the drop-down menu.
  8. Select the .ris file that the Cochrane Library generated for you.
  9. Click the Open button.
  10. Mendeley Web will use the metadata available from the Cochrane Library to save your references in the "All Documents" folder.

NOTE: Google Scholar tends to have unreliable metadata, meaning that you probably have to do a lot of editing to make citations you get from there usable.

Setting Up

  1. Go to Google Scholar.
  2. Click on the menu icon next to the "My profile" icon in the upper, left-hand corner of the page.
  3. Click on the Settings section at the bottom of the menu.
  4. If the system does not automatically default to the "Search results" section of the settings, click on the "Search results" link in the left sidebar.
  5. Go to the "Bibliography manager" section and select RefMan from the drop-down menu for "Show links to import citations into."
  6. Click the Save button.
  7. Now the link will show up on the bottom, right side of the records in your search results list. 

Importing Your Result (Single Record)

  1. In your search results list, click on the "Import into RefMan" link on the bottom, right side of your chosen record.
  2. In your Mendeley Web account, click on the "+ Add" button at the top of the left sidebar.
  3. Select the "Import RIS (.ris)" option from the drop-down menu.
  4. Select the .ris file that Google Scholar generated for you.
  5. Click the Open button.
  6. Mendeley Web will use the metadata available from Google Scholar to save your reference in the "All Documents" folder.

Importing Your Results (Multiple Records)

NOTE: Like PubMed, Google Scholar’s export functionality for multiple records requires you to perform multiple steps. However, unlike PubMed, Google Scholar has no bulk select tool, so you will have to select each article you want manually.

Also note that before you begin this process for a new search, make sure you’ve cleared the results of your last search from your library.

  1. Click on the star icon underneath the records you want to export.
  2. Click on the "My library" link in the upper, right-hand corner of the page.
  3. Click on the checkbox next to the records you want to export or click on the checkbox on the menu bar at the top of the page to select all records in your library.
  4. Click on the export icon (it looks like a download button) on the menu bar.
  5. Select the RefMan option from the drop-down menu.
  6. In your Mendeley Web account, click on the "+ Add" button at the top of the left sidebar.
  7. Select the "Import RIS (.ris)" option from the drop-down menu.
  8. Select the .ris file that Google Scholar generated for you.
  9. Click the Open button.
  10. Mendeley web will use the metadata available from Google Scholar to save your references in the "All Documents" folder.

Exporting References from Mendeley Web

You cannot export references from the Mendeley Web library to be used in another citation management software (e.g. EndNote, RefWorks, etc.). You can, however, export an XML file of references to be used in Microsoft Word's built in citation manager. The Mendeley blog has more information about that process here.

Importing References into Mendeley Desktop

  1. Select the references you want to export.
  2. Click the "Send to" button above the results list.
  3. Select "Citation manager" from the drop-down menu.
  4. Select "Selection (#)" from the Selection drop-down menu.
  5. Click the "Create File" button.
  6. In Mendeley Desktop, click on the arrow next to the Add button.
  7. Select "Add Files" from the drop-down menu.
  8. Select the .nbib file that PubMed generated for you.
  9. Click the Open button.
  1. Select the references you want to export.
  2. Click on the Export button.
  3. Select "RIS format (Mendeley, EndNote)" from the "Choose a format" drop-down menu.
  4. Click the Export button.
  5. Click the Download button.
  6. In Mendeley Desktop, click on the arrow next to the Add button.
  7. Select "Add Files" from the drop-down menu.
  8. Select the .ris file that Embase generated for you.
  9. Click the Open button.
  1. Search an EBSCO database (CINAHL, Health Business Elite, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection, etc.) or the HSL Discovery Search.
  2. Add the references you want to use by clicking on the folder icon next to each record.
  3. Click on the Folder View link in the right sidebar.
  4. Check the Select / deselect all checkbox.
  5. Click the Export link in the right sidebar.
  6. Click the "Direct Export in RIS Format" button under the "Save citations to a file formatted for:" section on the right-hand side.
  7. Click the Save button.
  8. In Mendeley Desktop, click on the arrow next to the Add button.
  9. Select Add Files from the drop-down menu.
  10. Select the .ris file that the EBSCO database generated for you.
  11. Click the Open button.
  1. When you find an item you want to use in the library catalog search results, click into that record.
  2. Click the "Save record" link in the right sidebar.
  3. Select RIS from the drop-down menu.
  4. In Mendeley Desktop, click on the arrow next to the Add button.
  5. Select "Add Files" from the drop-down menu.
  6. Select the .ris file that the library catalog generated for you.
  7. Click the Open button.
  1. Select the references you want to import.
  2. Click on the "Export selected citation(s)" link at the top of the search results page.
  3. Click on the Mendeley link under the "Save citation to:" section.
  4. If you want the abstract for each reference, check off the "Include abstract" checkbox at the bottom of the window.
  5. Click the Download button.
  6. In Mendeley Desktop, click on the arrow next to the Add button.
  7. Select "Add Files" from the drop-down menu.
  8. Select the .ris file that the Cochrane Library generated for you.
  9. Click the Open button.

NOTE: Google Scholar tends to have unreliable metadata, meaning that you probably have to do a lot of editing to make citations you get from there usable.

Setting Up

  1. Go to Google Scholar.
  2. Click on the menu icon next to the "My profile" icon in the upper, left-hand corner of the page.
  3. Click on the Settings section at the bottom of the menu.
  4. If the system does not automatically default to the "Search results" section of the settings, click on the "Search results" link in the left sidebar.
  5. Go to the "Bibliography manager" section and select RefMan from the drop-down menu for "Show links to import citations into."
  6. Click the Save button.
  7. Now the link will show up on the bottom, right side of the records in your search results list. 

Importing Your Result (Single Record)

  1. In your search results list, click on the "Import into RefMan" link on the bottom, right side of your chosen record.
  2. In Mendeley Desktop, click on the arrow next to the Add button.
  3. Select "Add Files" from the drop-down menu.
  4. Select the .ris file that Google Scholar generated for you.
  5. Click the Open button.

Importing Your Results (Multiple Records)

NOTE: Like PubMed, Google Scholar’s export functionality for multiple records requires you to perform multiple steps. However, unlike PubMed, Google Scholar has no bulk select tool, so you will have to select each article you want manually.

Also note that before you begin this process for a new search, make sure you’ve cleared the results of your last search from your library.

  1. Click on the star icon underneath the records you want to export.
  2. Click on the "My library" link in the upper, right-hand corner of the page.
  3. Click on the checkbox next to the records you want to export or click on the checkbox on the menu bar at the top of the page to select all records on a page.
  4. Click on the export icon (it looks like a download button) on the menu bar.
  5. Select the RefMan option from the drop-down menu.
  6. In Mendeley Desktop, click on the arrow next to the Add button.
  7. Select "Add Files" from the drop-down menu.
  8. Select the .ris file that Google Scholar generated for you.
  9. Click the Open button.
  1. Click on the "Literature Search" tab in the left sidebar.
  2. Enter your search terms or string to search the Mendeley catalog.
    • According to Mendeley, its catalog consists of reference added to Mendeley user libraries, in addition to which Mendeley calculates statistics based on user readership.
  3. Click on the reference you want to add.
  4. Click on the "Save Reference" button at the top of the right sidebar.

Exporting References from Mendeley Desktop

  1. Select the reference(s) you want to export.
  2. Click on the File tab of the menu bar.
  3. Click on the "Export…" option from the drop-down menu.
  4. Choose where the file will be saved.
  5. Enter a unique name for the file.
  6. Select the file type from the "Save as type:" section.
    • NOTE: You have the option of saving the references in a BibTeX, RIS, or EndNote XML file. How you choose to save the references depends on what you intend to do with them after you export them.
  7. Click the Save button.