Taking Good Notes
There are many ways to take notes on your sources as you do the arduous task of
researching your topic. Some people like to make copies of their sources and take
notes in the margins. Some people like to use note cards. Whatever your
preference, make sure you stay consistent in your method of taking notes
throughout your research process.
Any good research will accomplish at least two important tasks. First, the research
must be done in an organized manner. Organized research allows you to
rediscover information quickly and painlessly without the trouble of searching the
globe for a quotation you know you read but just cannot find. Second, research
must be, if nothing else, accurate. Knowing exactly where you found information
and relaying it to your reader is essential to the research paper. Anything less is
simply hearsay and considered by many as invalid research.
With that said, here are some general guidelines for taking notes (for whatever
system you use). Also, I have provided a popular type of notetaking system: note
cards.
General Guidelines
1. Work out a preliminary bibliography before you start to make copies or take
notes.
Keep a bibliographic record (author, title, publication, year, location,
etc.) of everything you read about your topic. This can be a
handwritten or digital record.
No matter what you read, even if you think you will never use that
source in your paper, write down the bibliographic information. It is
extremely frustrating to know you have read something but can never
find it again.
2. Use paraphrase and summary rather than quotations.
When you take notes on your sources, it is always better to paraphrase
or summarize the information. By paraphrasing or summarizing, it
forces you to understand the material and record it in your own words.
In contrast, when you simply copy the information verbatim, you
aren’t working to comprehend the information.
Also, by paraphrasing or summarizing the information from your
sources, you help yourself to avoid plagiarism. For example, when
you go to translate the information into your paper, if the information
is already paraphrased in your notes, the paraphrase you use in your
essay will be that much more removed from the original text.
3. Make sure your notes make sense.
This probably doesn’t need to be said. Nonetheless, your notes need
to make sense to you at a later date, so make sure they are clear.
4. Differentiate your own ideas from those you are paraphrasing or
summarizing.
There are multiple ways to show the difference between your ideas
and your source’s ideas. Some students, for instance, will write their
notes in different color ink—black for their own ideas, red for their
source’s ideas.
5. Keep a running record of page references.
This is for quick access later when you do in-text documentation.
Note Cards
Note cards are designed, among other things, to keep your research organized and
accurate. Here is what your note cards should include:
1. Author’s name and title of work
2. Notes on the usefulness of the source
3. Criticism of the source
4. Interesting idea/data that none of your other sources has
A sample note card:
9/30/17 A-1
David L Smith “Huck, Jim, and American Racial Discourse”
1. usefulness of source
2. criticism of source
3. interesting idea/data that none of your other sources has