Making reading notes - The art of capitalizing on your documentary research

[Voice-over]
Thursday evening. As she was cleaning, Anna came across one of Fred’s folders. It was labeled “Reading Notes”. Their purpose: keep track of his reading and research. Good idea, but a bit weird.
Captain’s log: 23 February. We’ve been sailing in rough conditions for days. No land in sight. Waves, waves and more waves.
After several grueling months, I feel that we are reaching our goal, but the crew’s morale is at rock bottom. Living conditions on board are dire. Food stores are depleted. Hunger is making the crew behave strangely.
As we sail, we sometimes see majestic sea creatures that seem to have come straight out of a Jules Verne novel.

[Voice-over]
Like Fred, you will be reading many documents throughout your research. Unless you have a memory like an elephant or are very organized, chances are you won’t be able to remember all the information contained in every document you find.
To avoid this pitfall, you’ll have to develop a strategy to organize your readings and avoid losing information, so that it’s easy to find when you’re ready to start your paper.
Consider making reading notes, or even using a logbook for longer research projects. You can adapt both tools to your needs.
Reading notes:
From the beginning, start keeping notes on the documents you have selected.
Reading notes let you:
•	Save useful information (keywords and search history)
•	Remember the content of a document with the help of bullet-point notetaking
•	Record excerpts and citations
Using a standard model can make notetaking easier. You’ll find an example in Key Points that you can adapt to suit your needs, depending on the time available and the scope of your paper. Don’t hesitate to add your own categories.
You might feel that this approach is long and tedious. Indeed, you will need to invest some time. However, this will also save you lots of time when you have to synthesize your findings.
Using reference management software to create reading notes will save you from the tiresome task of having to handwrite everything. Choose the method that suits you best.
For longer research papers use a logbook along with reading notes.  A logbook will help you track the evolution of your thinking and references. It also lets you keep your research up to date and saves from doing the same work twice.