Setting up a shared group folder in a reference manager
18/02/2025
Many of our students are now busy working on their group projects.
One easy way to share references amongst a group is to set up group folders in a reference manager like Mendeley or Zotero. Private group folders are accessible to invited team members and let you store and share all your references, along with any attached PDFs which can be annotated to support your project work. Individual comments by team members are visible to the whole team, so thoughts about the research can be shared easily.
Mendeley allows up to 25 people in a private group, and Zotero has no limits on the number invited to join, but in both cases, all invited group members will need to have either a Mendeley or Zotero account to access the group.
Details on setting up and managing private groups
Tips
Only one member of the project team needs to create the private reference manager group and invite the other members. It is best to wait until everyone has joined the group before you start adding documents to it.
Group libraries are separate from your personal library of references, so documents and files will need to be copied over to the group folder to be visible to all group members. Notes and annotations to PDFs should be made in your group folder, not on the copies in your personal library, and any prior notes made in your personal library will not be copied over to the group.
If using reference managers is not for you, did you also know you can share documents on Teams? Just create a team and convert your PDFs to Word documents. These can then be shared via the Teams files and annotated by your group. But remember you will still need to create the references for all your sources when you are done.
And of course, don’t forget that your Librarian is more than happy to help you find relevant information for your project, as well as supporting your use of Mendeley or Zotero if you need them!
Good luck!!
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Gear up for the future of vehicle design: Introducing the MSc in Virtual Prototyping for Vehicle Structures (VPVS)
The automotive and motorsport industries are in a constant state of evolution. Light weighting, electrification, and ever-stringent safety regulations are driving a revolution in vehicle design. But this innovation requires a ...
Finding industry profiles in Library resources
When researching an industry; its size, value and performance; competitors, brands and trends in the market etc., we recommend having a look at the following services. These can all be accessed via the SOM Library's ...
Setting up a shared group folder in a reference manager
Many of our students are now busy working on their group projects. One easy way to share references amongst a group is to set up group folders in a reference manager like Mendeley or Zotero. ...
Where are they now? From a Women in STEM scholar to a Sustainability Senior Professional
We recently caught up with Karoline, a previous Women in STEM scholar to find out where her scholarship and Cranfield master’s has taken her. How has Cranfield impacted your career? Studying at Cranfield University ...
Alan Harrison Half-Fee Scholarship 2024/2025 Recipient: A transition from working life back to student life, filled with learning, challenges, and rewarding moments
My first term at Cranfield has been filled with learning, new challenges and rewarding moments. Coming in with only a basic understanding of procurement and supply chain management, I knew the first term would ...
Moving with the times: The ‘new-look’ Cranfield Management MSc
For more than a decade, the Cranfield Management MSc has been at the forefront of management education worldwide. Ranked best Management MSc in the UK for value for money and international student experience by ...