Since the term began I've had to attend several sessions related to the topic of what it means to be in graduate school, namely the importance of reading and critically analyzing what what said. I've been told that to do well in graduate school is to read a wide range of primary and secondary sources and keep good notes.
I've also had to attend several sessions on plagiarism and how to avoid it. One of the reasons mentioned for the reason that people get caught plagiarizing is that they fail to keep good notes and they may mistake an author's idea for their own. I don't now how common this actually is but okay, point taken.
The other thing that took quite a bit of time in the first week is the Library Induction. I've been out of school for quite some time so this particular session came as a shock to me - OMG there is so much information out there!!! When I did my undergraduate degree the main limitation was what information we had access too, now we are limited by our ability to absorb and comprehend that information. The volume of just the resources and databases available to find information alone pretty much gave me a migraine. Of course with this amount of information at our finger tips somebody has already made the tools to keep track of all that information.
I use a tablet when I'm out and about so it's hand to keep all my reading on it when I'm riding the train or waiting for a bus. The app that I've found most handy is PaperShip for highlighting and keeping notes on each article that I read. It also has a handy feature which will import all the bibliographic data if you upload the article from a library database and links to Zotero so you can access all of it from your laptop or desktop. I've also been keeping track of bibliographic data in RefWorks because I get a free copy from my school but I've mainly been using it as a backup to Zotero.
Of course, I'm also pretty old school and I simply can't retain information unless I've written it out by hand so I usually go back after I've read the article and summarize all my highlights and notes in a small spiral bound notebook when I get home. My professor suggests starting off your notes on an article with the following 4 key point summary:
I write out my notes for physical books by hand on lined paper or in a larger spiral bound notebook. You should find a scheme that works for you but I do this:
I think that's enough for now - signing off!
I've also had to attend several sessions on plagiarism and how to avoid it. One of the reasons mentioned for the reason that people get caught plagiarizing is that they fail to keep good notes and they may mistake an author's idea for their own. I don't now how common this actually is but okay, point taken.
The other thing that took quite a bit of time in the first week is the Library Induction. I've been out of school for quite some time so this particular session came as a shock to me - OMG there is so much information out there!!! When I did my undergraduate degree the main limitation was what information we had access too, now we are limited by our ability to absorb and comprehend that information. The volume of just the resources and databases available to find information alone pretty much gave me a migraine. Of course with this amount of information at our finger tips somebody has already made the tools to keep track of all that information.
I use a tablet when I'm out and about so it's hand to keep all my reading on it when I'm riding the train or waiting for a bus. The app that I've found most handy is PaperShip for highlighting and keeping notes on each article that I read. It also has a handy feature which will import all the bibliographic data if you upload the article from a library database and links to Zotero so you can access all of it from your laptop or desktop. I've also been keeping track of bibliographic data in RefWorks because I get a free copy from my school but I've mainly been using it as a backup to Zotero.
Of course, I'm also pretty old school and I simply can't retain information unless I've written it out by hand so I usually go back after I've read the article and summarize all my highlights and notes in a small spiral bound notebook when I get home. My professor suggests starting off your notes on an article with the following 4 key point summary:
- What is this study about?
- What was their methodology?
- What is the sample and sample size?
- What was the argument made?
I write out my notes for physical books by hand on lined paper or in a larger spiral bound notebook. You should find a scheme that works for you but I do this:
- red pen is for articles and studies that are cited in the article or book I've just read and I should look that up later. I don't always read all of them but if I notice that it's come up a lot in one particular book or in other books then I will go find it in the library.
- blue pen is for summarizing or paraphrasing the author's main points.
- black pen is for my own thoughts and questions concerning what the author has written to avoid plagiarizing later.
I think that's enough for now - signing off!
