Reference Management Software: Mendeley

There are a lot of things to do in the academic wilderness, so let's make sure that we work smart and make use of the proper tools. Let's learn smart citations for this post.

Most students google the citation for a reference, then copy-paste it into their reference list. Then, type the in-text citations. 

Some do the supposedly smart thing of generating the citation from the journal webpage where they got the journal, then copy-paste it into their reference list. Then, type the in-text citations.

Those are actually somewhat smart, but not really.

Please make use of a citation tool. It will help make things convenient and leave you free to read, analyze, and write.

I personally use Mendeley citation software because it's free. Named after Dmitri Mendeleev, the software was created by three PhD students. The software was such a success that Elsevier brought the rights to it and further developed it. Beyond the issue of being purchased by a company, this software works with .ris, .bib, and .xml file types. These three file types are citation files that you can download from journals, which you can then import to Mendeley.

Let's go through the steps to get to know this program. 

The Software/s:

Note: I'm not adding most of the links because links might change. Just google search names of the software that I will mention. 

Go to www.mendeley.com. Create an account. Your citation data will be saved here, aside from the software. This lets you work wherever you are. Remember your password.

Download and install the Mendeley Reference Manager software. This is the main software. Once installed, you log in using your account. Your citation data will be synced here. 

The first optional add-on is Mendeley Desktop. This software is the old version, which I didn't initially like, but it has the capacity to make footnote citations. So, while we wait for Mendeley Reference Manager to update and have the power to make footnotes, make sure you have Mendeley Desktop if you do research that needs to have footnote citations.

You will also need the following add-ons. These two are a must. One is Mendeley Web Importer, and the other is Mendeley Cite for MS Word. If you want to use Mendeley Desktop, you will also have to get the MS Word Plugin. All these have download links at the TOOLS tab of your Mendeley Reference Manager and your Mendeley Desktop, so just go to the tools in each program and download and install the needed add-ons.

Note: Mendeley Web Importer is an extension of Chrome. Once added, make sure that you organize your extensions and place the Mendeley Importer Button on the Google Chrome bar.

Lastly, if you are willing to spend for convenience, purchase the Uploader for Mendeley for your Apple smartphone or tablet. It costs around 50-60 PHP. Super convenient. I'm not sure if there's a Google Play version, but as I searched, I think there's a different app, and it's free in Google Play. Please remember, Uploader for Mendeley is an OPTION. You don't need to buy it if you can't spare the amount for the purchase.

I'll further explain how to use them below; for now, here's a summary list of things to download and install.

1. Mendeley Referece Manager (Main Program)
2. Mendeley Web Importer (A Must)
3. Mendeley Cite (A Must)
4. Uploader for Mendeley (Optional)
5. Mendeley Desktop (Optional)

Getting citation data while on your computer

This is where you need Mendeley Web Importer. Make sure its installed on your Google Chrome. You then search for references on Google or Google Scholar or any high-quality and reputable journal databases such as Jstor, Taylor and Francis, and Sage. 

Once you have a certain chosen journal on display on Chrome, just click the Mendeley Web Importer Button. Just sign in if you still need to. Then, the citation data for that material will appear. You can double-check two sets of information:

First is the citation info for that article. Second is that Mendeley has searched the journal and has recommended related literature, you can check the ones that you think are relevant. Once everything is ok, then click "add." The data will then be synced to your Mendeley account and Mendeley Reference Manager.

Most automatic data are available if you are accessing a journal article from a reputable/high-quality publisher. If you are accessing books, news articles, or websites, then you will have to fill in some of the data.

Getting citation data while on a mobile device

Uploader for Mendeley is a useful tool for those who work on mobile devices it works just like the Web Mendeley Importer above, though it does not give related literature recommendations. Just open a journal article and click the share button on the Safari or Chrome browser bar. Check the info, then just click "save."

Managing citation data

Important things to note. Make sure that the data is complete. Remember that the machines help us, but they can't completely take over (yer :D ), so double-check the data before clicking "add" or "save."

You can always edit on your Mendeley Reference Manager or through your account by going to Mendeley.com and opening the library. The online library can also check for double entries. 

Using Mendeley on Word

If you are using Mendeley Desktop, you can make things easier by using alt+m, and it will open a reference search. So, start your sentence, then if you need a text citation, do alt+m then search the reference, select it, then press "ok" or "enter." For multiple references to cite, select and collect each on the search bar before pressing "ok" or "enter." 

In Mendeley Reference Manager, you have to click Mendeley Cite at the REFERENCES toolbar of MS Word, sign in, search for the reference, select it by checking it, and then click "insert citation." For multiple references to cite, just select those by checking each, then click "insert citation."

Thus far, these are the initial uses of Mendeley. Use it, and you'll find that you can do more, such as automatically shifting citation styles and editing in-text citations. See you next post. For now, I will take the winter vacation and maybe post again if inspiration or any need intrudes on a post.

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Stealing Thunder

One of the reasons that I'm thankful for having had debate experience in college is that it helped me with reasoning and eventually helped me in writing my thesis and any class papers that I had in my years during my Master's and my Ph.D. There is a debate strategy called stealing one's thunder wherein you use your opponent's arguments against them or use their arguments or even evidence to help you win. It seems underhanded but quite valid. It's an advanced version of exploiting your enemy's weaknesses.

This, however, only translates directly into research writing. Remember, we discussed ethics last week. There's no enemy in research per se. But in research, you converse with the accomplishments of those who have come before you. This is a  mark of professionalism and of expertise. Being professional and an expert means that you know the body of literature surrounding the topic that you want to study (reviewing literature). They also mean that you know how to situate yourself and your idea among what ideas already exist (research gap). Lastly, professionalism and expertise imply that you know how to operate ideas in such a way that you can use them to argue a valid point (thesis statement).

Let's cover them today.

Practically a thesis means two things that both relate to each other. It means a valid argument that you can back up with evidence.  It is also a written manuscript containing the same argument with all the evidence and processes (methods) used to support your claim.

Take for example, scientific theses such as:

• Darwin's theory that species do change over time became the theory of evolution.
• Newton's that a force causes objects to be pulled to one another depending on their mass, which became the Law of Gravity.

In Political Science, there are:

• Michel stated that in every group, power will always form a pyramid, with the elite at the top. This became the Law of Oligarchy.
• Kant's was that Democracies do not start wars; non-democracies do. Hence if there's no non-democracy in the world, then there will be no one to start wars. This became the Principle of Perpetual Peace.

Some of those examples have already been tried and tested; they are laws and not theories any more. Those theories can still be tested, expanded, or improved.

This is where the conversation between the researcher and those who have made accomplishments comes in. That's why we review the literature. What has already been argued about our topic? Which is nearest to the topic? What are we doing regarding this?

When you have found the nearest or closest theory to your thesis, you can use this to frame your argument. It becomes the focal point of discussion. It will help frame your research questions, and it will help frame your thesis statement. This also provides a pathway to what needs to be conceptualized.

Extensions/Variations

When you test a theory, you either affirm if it is true or not in the particular location or population that you proposed. Take, for example, Darwin's theory of evolution. He made his observations in the Galapagos islands. Then, can you use the same methods of observation and check if the principle is the same in some islands in northern Europe? 

One of my preliminary lectures when I used to handle Political Science as a Profession was the story of Chris Wlezein, who proposed the theory of thermostatic response. That the voters are like thermostats. If you saturate them with one policy, they will choose the candidate from an opposing party in the next elections. Wlezein used this in the U.S. in a particular state but found that his formula needed to be revised in other states. The theory is faulty, so he went back to his drawing board and proposed the element of salience in the formula. Eventually, the formula did not work in any other location, making the theory stronger.  As a note. Just because there are lots of Democrat policies during this term doesn't mean that voters will thermostatically respond and vote Republican in the next election. But what makes this work is that if there are a lot of salient (noticeable) policies, then the thermostatic response can be activated. 

Going back, the story also tells us what happens when we test a theory, and it turns out to not work or be false in the location or population that we proposed; then, part of our professionalism and expertise is to extend the theory or provide a variation. Both terms are the same. I encountered extensions in British Parliamentary format debates. The closing teams extend the proposals of the opening teams.  In research, we provide an alternative theory, or we propose a variation to the theory by adding a new element to it that helps make it work or make it better in explaining the world around us.

As we close today, please check out the quote on our Magic: the Gathering card for the day. It reminds us of ethical practice in research and the practicalities of knowing the field of literature. I apologize for the late post. Tune in to the next post where we discuss the use of Mendeley citation tool.

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