Mendeley - Beyond the Basics

Mendeley Data allows you to upload your research data to the cloud. You can then share your dataset with others, link to it from your published paper/s, organise it, and use it again.

Your first dataset:

1. Go to Mendeley Data and click Start uploading.
2. Sign in with your Elsevier (Mendeley / Scopus) login.
3. This takes you to a screen where you can click Create my first dataset:
   

Creating your dataset:

1. Give your data a descriptive Title (compulsory).
2. Add Contributors (there must be at least one contributor – your name will automatically be added).
3. You can change the type of copyright licence for your dataset on the right.
4. Start uploading your Data files by dragging and dropping, or click to browse your computer’s folders.
   
   • You can upload a wide range of files – images, documents, audio, video, spreadsheets, and so on.
   • If you have multiple folders of data, you can click Create Folder to organise the information in Mendeley.
     1. Create a folder, and then drag and drop the data files on top of the folder, or select the folder by clicking on it once and then click the Click or Drop option just below the folders.
     2. You can add files separately, using Click or Drop, and then drag them into the relevant folder/s.
     3. You can create as many folders as you need, and you can drag folders into other folders.
   • You can add descriptions for your uploaded files by clicking Add description.
   
5. Once you have added the data, you can:
   1. Choose the institution through which the study was performed (optional).
   2. Assign categories to the data (compulsory. These are similar to keywords.)
   3. Provide a description of the data and the study (compulsory).
   4. Provide steps to reproduce the study so that other researchers can do the same / similar (optional).
   
   5. Add related links (optional). These can be the original research article that used this data, articles that cite the data, software that compiled the data, and so on.
      1. Other researchers will be able to see and link to these related items.
   6. Set an embargo (optional. Up to two years from the date of publishing the data)
   7. Save and preview (select this option if you want to be the only one able to access the data. Sharing with colleagues is still possible. See point 8 below)
   8. Delete if you change your mind or want to start over.
   9. Share if you want others to see the information, such as colleagues who worked on the same project, or if you want someone to check the dataset before you publish it
6. Finally, you can click publish to make the data public. It is very important to note the following:
   
   1. The dataset cannot be deleted or altered after it is published – you must have the rights to publish the data, they must be correct, and they must not contain confidential information. The data will be viewable, accessible, and downloadable by anyone.
   2. You will need to confirm that you understand these three conditions before clicking the final Publish button.
7. Once your dataset is published, it will be assigned its own DOI, and will be citable by other authors.
8. If you want to keep your data more private:
   1. You can select the save and preview option.
      
      1. This will save your dataset as a draft under ‘My datasets’.
      2. You can share the dataset with whomever you like, without making it public.
   2. To share:
      
      1. Open the dataset, scroll to the bottom, and click on the share button.
      2. This gives you a URL you can send to anyone.