Mendeley - setting a high bar for reference management
Jinfo Blog

By Norma Beavers

Abstract

In our recent Product Review of Mendeley, Andy Tattersall takes a considered look at how this reference management tool and scholarly collaboration network is pushing the boundaries, not least with its mobile apps offering.

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Nobody can deny that the reference management sector is a crowded marketplace. It's difficult to stand out but apparently Mendeley does.

As part of our recent Product Review of Mendeley (Subscriber access), Andy Tattersall considers why users are increasingly attracted to it and how it compares to established reference management packages and competitors like EndNote, ReadCube, RefME, RefWorks and Zotero.

Connect with like-minded researchers

One of the pros of using Mendeley is its ability to connect like-minded scholars, researchers and information specialists in much the same way as Facebook has revolutionised the way members of the public connect and exchange information with others they know.

Andy writes, "Mendeley's five million users are able to form their own social networks and groups. They are able to follow colleagues and peers and discover what research they are saving and engage in discussion with them in public and private groups."

Continuing development

Mendeley has developed "to become a very robust and trustworthy application" and there's little sign of this progress slowing down, Andy notes.

Recent add-ons such as Suggest and Data already show "great potential for researchers and information professionals. Whilst Stats will potentially offer useful insights to the information professional and researcher about their personal and institution's research. The addition of an official Android app makes Mendeley more universally friendly and usable", he writes.

Mendeley offers you access to a huge database of 817 million references - a figure that is constantly increasing. Researchers can upload their own publications and references, host data and add biographical information, work and education history, in addition to contact details and considerably more.

Find out more

To read the full in-depth product review, including information on the three-pronged value Mendeley brings to the research and collaboration process, how to use the platform, the benefits of the Mendeley Community and Advisor programmes, and how it stacks up against competitors, read Jinfo's Product Review of Mendeley.

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