AOSARS Flags Off Mendeley Desktop Citation Management Module
The African Online School of Applied Research Skills (AOSARS) today, 05/04/2025, officially flagged off the comprehensive module on “Mastering Mendeley Desktop for Comprehensive Citation Management” for University of Nairobi Masters students. This innovative training program adopts a blended learning approach, beginning with self-paced study through pre-recorded content in the e-learning platform.
The module focuses extensively on APA 7th edition compliance, teaching students how to properly implement this widely-used academic citation style through Mendeley Desktop. Participants will gain mastery in creating both narrative in-text citations and parenthetical in-text citations, with special attention to complex citation scenarios involving multiple authors, organizational authors, and secondary sources.
Students will learn to leverage Mendeley’s Research Information System integration for efficient metadata retrieval and management. The training covers comprehensive techniques for automatically generating properly formatted reference lists, including customization options for meeting specific departmental or journal requirements within the APA 7 framework.
The module provides detailed instruction on organizing content within Mendeley Desktop, including creating logical folder hierarchies based on research themes, implementing consistent file naming conventions, utilizing tags and filters for rapid document retrieval, developing custom metadata fields for specialized research needs, and managing PDF annotations and highlights systematically.
Additional Mendeley Desktop skills covered include synchronizing libraries across devices, collaborating with research teams through shared libraries, extracting bibliographic information from PDFs, bulk-importing citation data, managing duplicate entries, and customizing citation styles.
The self-directed learning phase concludes with a collaborative blended session scheduled for Thursday, 10th April 2025, conducted via Google Meet. During this interactive session, instructors will address questions, facilitate discussions on implementation challenges, and guide students through practical applications of the advanced citation management strategies they’ve studied.
This hybrid approach combines the flexibility of self-paced learning with the benefits of real-time instructor guidance, ensuring participants develop comprehensive Mendeley Desktop proficiency to support their academic writing and research endeavors.
