Note: This guide focuses on the modern Mendeley Reference Manager and the Mendeley Cite add-in for Word. It does not cover the older “Mendeley Desktop” or the legacy Word plugin.

Introduction

For researchers, managing citations accurately according to the APA 7th edition standard is crucial but time-consuming. Mendeley streamlines this by separating the process into two distinct phases: organizing your references and citing them in your writing.

This guide covers the essential workflow:

1. Setting up your toolkit.
2. Building and organizing your library.
3. Citing in MS Word using APA 7th format.

Phase 1: Setting Up Your Mendeley Toolkit

Before you begin research, you need three essential components installed and synced.

1. Mendeley Reference Manager (The Desktop App)

This is your central hub where all your references, PDFs, and notes live. Download it from the official Mendeley website here and sign in with your Elsevier credentials.

2. Mendeley Web Importer (The Browser Extension)

Install this browser extension for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge. It allows you to save references directly from databases (like Google Scholar, PubMed, or university library searches) into your desktop library with one click.

3. Mendeley Cite (Microsoft Word Add-in)

This is the tool that connects Microsoft Word to your Mendeley library. Unlike older versions, this is obtained through the Microsoft Store within Word using the following steps.

• Open Microsoft Word.
• Go to the Insert tab.
• Click Get Add-ins (or “Store”).
• Search for “Mendeley Cite” and add it. It will appear under your References tab.

Phase 2: Building Your Mendeley Library

There are several ways to get references into your Mendeley Reference Manager. The software will attempt to automatically extract metadata (Author, Title, Year, Journal, DOI) from the files.

Method A: Drag and Drop PDFs

If you already have PDF articles saved on your computer, simply drag and drop them directly into the center panel of the Mendeley Reference Manager. Mendeley will analyze the PDF and create a reference entry.

Method B: The Web Importer

When viewing an article online:

1. Click the Mendeley Web Importer icon in your browser toolbar.
2. It will detect references on the page. Select the ones you want.
3. Make sure “Add PDFs if available” is checked.
4. Click “Add to Mendeley.”

Method C: Manual Entry via DOI/PMID

If you have the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or Pubmed ID of an article, but not the full PDF:

1. In Mendeley Reference Manager, click + Add new.
2. Select Add entry manually.
3. Scroll down to the Identifiers section, paste the DOI, and click the search icon. Mendeley will pull in the metadata automatically.

CRITICAL APA 7TH STEP: Verify Your Metadata

Mendeley is not perfect. After adding a reference, click on it to open the details pane on the right. You must verify that the information is correct according to APA 7th standards. Some of the most common issues to fix manually include:

• Title Capitalization: In APA 7th edition, article titles should be in sentence case (only capitalize the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon). Mendeley often imports them in Title Case.
• Missing DOIs: Ensure the DOI is present if the source has one.

Phase 3: Citing in Word (APA 7th Edition)

Once your library is built, you are ready to write. Open your Microsoft Word document and click on the “Mendeley Cite” button under the References tab to open the side panel.

Step 1: Select APA 7th Style

Before inserting citations, ensure you are using the correct rule set by following these steps:

1. In the Mendeley Cite panel, click Citation Settings.
2. Click Change citation style.
3. Search for and select American Psychological Association 7th edition.

Step 2: Inserting In-Text Citations

To add a standard parenthetical citation at the end of a sentence:

1. Place your cursor where you want the citation in your text.
2. In the Mendeley Cite search bar, type the author’s name or words from the title.
3. Tick the box next to the correct reference(s).
4. Click Insert citation.

Result: (Wangari & Simiyu, 2025)

Step 3: Customizing Citations (Page Numbers & Narratives)

Sometimes you need to modify parenthetical citations, for example, when using a direct quote (which requires a page number in APA) or when you have already mentioned the author’s name in the sentence (narrative citation).

To add page numbers for direct quotes:

1. After selecting the reference in the side panel, click on the reference preview that appears just above the “Insert citation” button.
2. This opens detail fields. Add the page number in the “Page” field (e.g., just type 45). Mendeley will automatically add the “p.”
3. Click Save changes and insert.

Result: (Wangari, 2025, p. 45)

To suppress the author for narrative citations: If you write: According to Simiyu (2025) … you only need the year in parentheses. To achieve this, follow these steps below:

1. Select the reference in the panel.
2. Click the reference preview to edit details.
3. Check the box for Suppress author.

Phase 4: Generating the Bibliography

When you have finished writing your entire paper, you must generate the reference list with one click.

1. Place your cursor at the end of your document on a new page titled “References” (bold and centered, per APA).
2. In the Mendeley Cite panel, click the More menu (three dots in the top right).
3. Select Insert Bibliography.

Mendeley will generate the full list, alphabetized and formatted according to APA 7th rules, based on the citations you inserted in the text.

Note: If you go back and add more in-text citations later, the bibliography will be automatically updated to include the new sources.

Quick Tips for Researchers

APA 7th Cheat Sheet

• Et al.: APA 7th uses “et al.” for citations with 3 or more authors immediately (e.g., Hamisi et al., 2023). Mendeley handles this automatically.
• DOIs: Always prefer a DOI over a URL. APA 7th formats DOIs as hyperlinks: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx.
• Sentence Case: Remember that article titles in your reference list should be sentence case, while journal names remain in Title Case.

Syncing

Remember to occasionally click on the Sync button in Mendeley Reference Manager to ensure any changes made on the web or other devices are reflected in your desktop app and Microsoft Word add-in.