TR4100: Introduction to Research Methods

An efficient information storage and retrieval system will not only help you through the next few years but also facilitate a smooth transition to clinical practice.

Many highly functional, free and fee-based info management programs are available, but none of them does it all. Your system will work best if it has a mix of tools, including:

1. Individual database accounts: Most major databases have a feature that allows you to set up an account to save your searches and selected studies, for example PubMed's MyNCBI.


2. Note taking and archiving resources: Primarily used for creating and managing your notes, e.g. for classes, and saving clips (parts) of websites; examples: Evernote, Voodoo, and One Note.


3. Research managers/PDF organizers: Save, organize and annotate research articles with your own notes and highlights. Some tools, such as Mendeley, also provide a social component that lets you share studies and explore those that others have found.

Unless you are already using a product like EndNote, or Papers (Mac) we suggest you use Mendeley as your reference manager.

Mendeley functions as a PDF organizer, and academic social network; it allows you to highlight sections of a PDF and insert your own comments (!). Available as a FREE version (allows you to save about 3,000 PDFs), and also in fee-based versions (with more storage). Available for Macs, PCs and mobile devices. 

First-time setup takes about 15-20 minutes depending on your computer's download speed. Here are the basic steps:

1. Go to Mendeley.com and click the "Create Account" button on the top right side of the page. Follow the steps to create an Elsevier account, which is the host of Mendeley.

2. Install the Mendeley Reference Manager; this is where Mendeley will keep and organize all your references, PDFs, and documents. 

3. Install the Web Importer Tool, and add to your browser's toolbar; this makes adding PDFs from the web a piece of cake!

4. OPTIONAL: Download the Mendeley Application to your laptop or desktop computer. There is nothing wrong with using the desktop app, but the Mendeley Reference Manager can handle everything you need.

5. If you plan to use Mendeley to generate citations, you will either need to download the Mendeley desktop app (which can generate citations in desktop MS Word) and add the citation plug-in there, OR download Mendeley Cite here to use in MS Word online.

5. Mendeley updated in 2021 so if you're downloading for the first time, you don't need to do this but if you have an older version on your machine, make sure you follow this next step too:

Very important for 1st-time setup: select the Organize my files option when configuring Mendeley Desktop!

• This ensures any PDFs you add will be stored in Mendeley's data directory; otherwise, a PDF you've added to Mendeley can vanish when you delete the original file from your computer.
• Mendeley can then rename the PDF in a logical manner using the article title and author name.

--On MS Windows, open Mendeley Desktop and select: Tools > Options > File Organizer, then check Organize my files.

--On Mac OSX, open Mendeley Desktop and select: Mendeley Desktop > Preferences… > File Organizer, then check Organize my files.