Step 3:
Develop Your Organization System

When it comes time to write your paper, all of the research in the world is useless to you unless it is organized. By establishing an organizational system before you begin your research, you will save yourself time and unnecessary frustration.

Taking Research Notes is an on-line tutorial I designed to help you learn how to take effective notes while preparing to write a research paper, design a digital literacy project, or some other project.

At the conclusion of this learning activity, you will:

  • know the importance of a bibliographic note card.

  • have the skills necessary for making sure you know from what source your notes were taken.

  • know how file folders and databases can be used in note taking.

  • have developed some specific strategies to avoid plagiarism.

References and Resources



Return to Writing a Research Paper



Return to Step 2: Select Your Topic



Go to Step 4: Conduct Your Research


I use Delicious, a free on-line program to organize the research I do on the Internet. Delicious allows me to save a website with it's URL, name, and a description. I can also "tag" each entry by placing it in one or more categories.