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Education Library: Referencing Guide APA 7th: Note making

Why make notes?

  • It saves you time by not having to read material again.
  • It helps you to understand what you are reading, to put it in context with what you have already read and to reflect on your reading by making connections with other research.
  • You can avoid plagiarism by keeping a record of where ideas come from and separating your own thoughts from those of others.

Further reading

See the Academic Writing & Study Skills Section of the Education Ebooks Collection for further reading

Education Ebooks Collection

Critical Reading Course

This course was originally developed by the Library Team at the University of Manchester and adapted by librarians at Cambridge. 

Critical Analysis: Reading Critically

Self paced course to explore techniques for reading scholarly literature effectively and then decide which techniques best suit you to help you to read productively.

Top tips for a good note making system

Creation  

  • Can you read what you have written?
    Top Tip: Adapt your note making method to the environment. If you are in a crowded space or can’t easily access your laptop or device try making notes in a notebook instead and use pencil that can write at all angles and won't run out of ink.
  • Do your notes make sense?
    Top Tip: Try to keep abbreviations consistent throughout all your notes.
  • Have you made a note of the source and attributed any quotes etc?
    Remember if you can’t find the source, you can’t reference it and you can’t use it in your work)
  • What is the level of detail that is needed and are there any supporting documents that can cut down the amount of notes you need to take?
    For example, will the speaker be sharing their slides from a talk


Review and retrieval 

  • Can you edit your notes easily?
    Top Tip: For handwritten notes consider writing on one side on the page only or leave gaps so that you can add or edit your notes at a later date
  • Can you locate your notes on a specific topic or source easily and efficiently?
    Top Tip: Use a code to tag your notes with key themes, either with an electronic method or in paper format. Try to be consistent when naming headings, both within a set of notes and where possible/appropriate within your whole collection of notes
  • Can you access your notes anywhere?
    Top Tip: Scan paper notes so that you always have access to what you need, and ensure that they are backed up.

     

Backing up your work 

  • Have you backed up your notes and in multiple formats?
    Top Tip: Never keep your notes solely in one location or on a single device.

Different note making methods and tools

Formatting your notes 

Take time to think about why you are making notes and the type of research material that you will be using. The format, method and tools that you choose must be suited to the type of research that you are doing, so that the notes accurately reflect your needs. 

The format of your notes is likely to change depending on the source and environment, for example you will have more time pressure when taking notes from a live lecture compared with when you are reading at your own pace. 

It is important to have a system to organise all of your notes. You will then be able to find, access, edit and revise the notes as required. Often notes will be used for multiple purposes.

Note making methods and tools 

The level of detail needed will determine the format that you choose to adopt (e.g. if you are reading on a new topic you may need more detailed notes, whereas if you are looking for a specific piece of information then you may be able to skim read a text and make fewer notes). 

Choose the right note making method for you to suit the way you engage with material.  

Evaluate your note making methods and make changes if needed.  

Note making can be time consuming and distracting so in time pressured situations like talks, you may miss information (Top Tip: be aware of any supporting materials such as speakers sharing their slides after the talk, so that you do not make unnecessary notes or notes in unnecessary detail, allowing you to concentrate on engaging with the material and noting down thoughts and reactions). 

Top tips:  

  • Add headings for structure and to break up the text
  • Highlight key points by underlining or using capitals
  • Separate direct quotes from your own ideas and make sure to note down the source of any quotes
  • Use abbreviations and bullet points to keep notes as concise as possible. Remember to be consistent with your abbreviations across all notes
  • Leave space for future editing and consider using colour to make your notes as useful as possible 

Organise your page into three columns to separate out different sections, for example: 

  1. Key points   

  1. Own comments questions  

  1. Questions and lines of research to follow up on 

Top tips:  

  • Write bibliographic details at the top
  • Create a summary at the bottom to ease retrieval and understanding when editing your notes and writing up

Combine different elements, such as:  

  • Layout based around a key concept or main theme

  • Use of colours

  • Use of Images, diagrams, or arrows to form flow charts

Visual elements can be added to notes in small ways such as drawing text boxes around points, underlining etc. Make sure to leave extra space to linear notes if you are thinking of adding visual elements later.

Visual note making can be undertaken in real time but also as a way of editing your notes later, especially if you are making notes from a lecture etc where adding visual elements could be time consuming and distracting

You will need to revisit visual notes to highlight the most important points and to organise ideas for future use so as not to lose any understanding or impact

Top tips: 

  • Leave some space to add to notes and edit if needed

Zotero can be used to annotate and take notes from your research materials and then keep them all together in one place.


Zotero has several note options

  • Manually added notes (Child notes that are connected to a specific item in your library or a standalone note not connected to an item in your library)

  • Create notes from websites.

  • Extract annotations and comments from PDFs

Guidance on using Zotero to make notes can be found in the Managing your References (Zotero) page of this guide.

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