RefME was a free citation management tool available on web, iOS and Android. It offered a functionality that allowed users to scan book and journal barcodes with a mobile device and generate citations automatically.[1] It was compatible with other citation management tools such as Mendeley, Zotero, RefWorks, and EndNote and enables exporting in over 7000 citation styles.[2] In May 2015, the company released a Chrome plug-in[3] to allow for direct clipping of web sources, which was followed in August 2015 by a similar iOS extension.[4] RefME was shut down on March 7, 2017, after being acquired by the education company Chegg, Inc.
 | |
| Developer(s) | RefME |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Type | Reference management software |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | refme |
History
editRefME was founded 2014 by Tom Hatton,[5] Ian Forshew, and Tom Gardiner[6] It was based in London and had over a million registered users. In April 2015, it was announced that GEMS Education had invested $5 million (£2.7) in the company’s seed investment round.[7][8]
In 2017, RefMe was acquired by Chegg, Inc. and RefMe user accounts were transferred over to CiteThisForMe, Chegg's own citation service.
Features
editRefME was a free service that required registration to use. Registration could be performed by email, Facebook single sign on, or via Edmodo. It was available on Desktop (Windows, macOS and Linux) via the RefME.com web platform, iOS (for iPhones and iPads), Android and Google Chrome via the RefME WebClipper browser extension.[9]
RefME allowed sharing and collaborating on resources, adding information through both desktop and mobile devices with cloud synchronization between platforms. The tool also allowed for citations to be exported into other tools[10] as well as batch-importing using Ris files.[11]
The mobile apps also offered a feature that allowed users to scan books with their smartphones and turn them automatically into citations.[12]
Awards
editIn October 2014, RefME was selected as one of the nineteen fastest-growing startups to participate in the Great Enterprise Tech Expedition organised by the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) to showcase UK technology in the US.[13][14]
RefME was named 2014 Startup of the Year by The Guardian[15] and in March 2015 was voted Best British Mobile Startup[16] at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and also received the EdTech20 award in June 2015.[17][18]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ BBC Click"BBC Click 5th September 2015".
- ^ Forbes"GUK EdTech Company To Simplify Academic Referencing". Forbes.
- ^ Brown, Aaron (May 12, 2015). "Exam Revision, Dissertations and Deadlines – Five of the Best apps for students". Sunday Express. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ McClellan, Craig (August 26, 2015). "RefMe Adds iOS Share Extension". The Class Nerd. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ Startups.co.uk"The Highs and Lows of Life as a Young Entrepreneur".
- ^ The Huffington Post"Young Entrepreneur Of The Week: Meet The Creators Of The Student Referencing Tool RefME". 27 December 2014.
- ^ TechCrunch"Edtech Tool RefME Bags $5M To Take The Tedium Out Of Referencing". 8 April 2015.
- ^ The Independent"RefME citation app given £2.7 million backing from GEMs Education". Independent.co.uk.
- ^ The Next Web"10 Boost startups from the UK that you should know about". 10 September 2015.
- ^ FreePint"FreePint Report: Product Review of RefME".
- ^ RefME Blog"Importing References Directly to RefME".
- ^ NaturePerkel, Jeffrey M. (2015). "Eight ways to clean a digital library". Nature. 527 (7576): 123–124. Bibcode:2015Natur.527..123P. doi:10.1038/527123a. PMID 26536960.
- ^ The Telegraph"London tech start-ups on US mission to win investment". 7 October 2014.
- ^ Tech City News"4 education startups to watch from the Great Tech Expedition".
- ^ The Guardian"Startup of the year 2014: RefME". The Guardian. 26 February 2015.
- ^ Techworld"RefMe wins best British mobile startup at MWC with its free student referencing app".
- ^ Startups.co.uk"RefME announced UK winner of 2015 EdTech 20".
- ^ EdSurge"The 20 Edtech Startups Changing Education in Europe". 2 July 2015.