Mendeley
Overview
Mendeley is a desktop and web program designed for managing and sharing research papers, discovering research data and collaborating online. It combines Mendeley Desktop, a PDF and reference management application (available for Windows, macOS, and Linux) with Mendeley Web, an online social network for researchers.
History
Mendeley was founded in November 2007 by three German PhD students who were friends from university. The development was subsequently commenced in London. The first public beta version was released in August 2008. The company's headquarters have been located in London since the beginning of 2009.
Features
Mendeley's primary function is to serve as a reference manager and academic social network that can help manage and share academic knowledge. It offers a multitude of features that facilitate academic research and collaboration.
Reference Management
Mendeley automatically extracts metadata from PDF articles to create a searchable database that can be organized into folders. It can import and export BibTeX, EndNote, RefMan, and other reference formats. It also includes a PDF viewer and notes annotation function.
Research Network
Mendeley users can create profiles, upload research, identify key trends, and connect with other academics in their field of study. It's a platform for finding and collaborating with like-minded academics and a tool for exploring research on a multitude of topics.
Research Data Discovery
Mendeley offers a research catalog with over 30 million papers. All papers uploaded are automatically added to the database, and the data is made freely available under a Creative Commons license.
Collaboration
Mendeley provides the ability to create public and private groups for collaboration. Users can share references, notes, and annotations with group members, and can also collaboratively annotate a document.
Reception and Impact
Mendeley has been well received in the academic community, with a user base that spans the globe. It has been praised for its user-friendly interface, its versatility as a reference manager, and its potential for fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Criticisms and Controversies
Despite its popularity, Mendeley has faced criticism. Some users have raised concerns about the privacy of the data uploaded to Mendeley, particularly after the company was purchased by Elsevier in 2013. There have also been concerns about the sustainability of the freemium business model that Mendeley uses.