Research is a key part of writing. It forms the foundation for story. In this series on research, we’ve covered how to plan your research, offered tips for conducting effective research and discussed how to take good notes. Now we’ll tackle how to organize your research.
It doesn’t help if you can’t find that key fact you unearthed or locate the source for the information. Organization is everything. The best organizational method is the one you will use because consistency helps. If there’s a method you admire, but won’t use on a regular basis, don’t use it. Choose something that matches your personality and work pattern.
I often find digital organizational systems that look great, but I know I won’t use them. I prefer an old-school approach for my research. I use two computer programs to collate my research, but I do much of it longhand and either scan my notes in or copy it over. This isn’t for everyone. If you tend to lose your notebooks and can’t keep track of physical items, go digital. It’s harder to lose information that way. This is also a great idea if you live on your devices and love using them for everything. There are many apps designed for research that are sure to meet your needs.
The primary goal for organizing research is knowing where to find what you need when you need it. The worst thing is to do a ton of research and not be able to find it or having to spend hours locating one fact.
Here are some options for organizing your research:
Old School Method:
Notebooks
Notebooks are great for those of us who like taking notes by hand. Research shows that writing down facts helps us retain them. I find it also helps me assimilate the information better so I can repackage it in my work. I love taking notes by hand.
If you use notebooks for your research, consider assigning a separate notebook for each project. If it’s a large project that has multiple subject areas, use a different notebook for each topic.
Color code them so it’s easy to find the right notebooks for the project. For example, if I am working on a documentary film, I choose a color to represent that project. Then I use separate notebooks for each aspect of the film—background, primary subject, related material, visual information, etc. I label each of the notebooks so when I need something, I know to grab all the blue notebooks or the blue notebook labeled “Background.”
Computer Files
If you don’t want to take the time to write out your notes by hand, create a computer file to hold your research. You could use a specific program, such as Scrivener or Notebook. Or you could use your regular word processing program, like Pages or Word. Use whatever program is easiest for you in both use and organization.
Use specific titles. Like my notebooks, you need to label your research clearly so you can locate information easily. When I convert my notebooks to digital copies, I use my original labels. So my notebook labeled “George Washington Documentary: Colonial Era Background” is what I use for my digital file. That way I know the notebook and digital file are related. I also use subheads within the notebook or computer file to divide the work. For example: Letters from Benjamin Rush, Thomas Paine, John Adams, etc.
When I work in Scrivener, I organize my research for the project under the research folder and use the same headings. This means all my research is in one place (or two, if I haven’t scanned my hand-written notes).
Starting Organized
The best way to stay organized is to start organized. Before I start my research, I figure out what I need to know. This list, from planning my research, is converted into file names. If I am working on a documentary film on epidemiology, I would list all the areas of epidemiology I plan to cover. Notice I said “plan to cover.” Sometimes plans expand or contract during research. It’s not rare to stumble upon an interesting area that affects my original story. I always have a file ready to add those tidbits that may or may not fit in the final work, but that bear consideration. I also combine files that overlap or end up not being big enough to warrant a separate file.
Like the tip above, use your list of topics to create your file names and notebook names. This will keep you organized before you take your first note. But be flexible in case you want to add files along the way.
Bibliography
Another part of staying organized is keeping a complete and accurate list of sources. As I discussed in the blog on taking notes, I create a bibliography as I go (adding each entry when I read a new source) and then assign a code to use in my note taking.
For example, if I use material from a book, my bibliographic source would say:
Beck, Derek W. The War Before Independence 1775-1776 Sourcebooks, 2016. Print
Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon: E 231.B43 2016
This is more information than is technically required for a proper citation, but I like adding where I found the book. It’s helpful to know the note came from one of my books or from a library or other source. If I am citing an article that I have either copied, scanned or saved, I note that too. This helps if or when I need to check the note or look for more information. It also helps if an editor requests a copy of my source material.
An Ongoing Research List
It’s always a good idea to keep an ongoing list of missing information that need research. This helps you manage your research in the middle of a project. I tend to partition my “To Be Researched” list the same way I do my files. This makes it easier to stay organized.
Resources
Before I do the actual research, I look at library catalogs and books in print to see what is available. When I do this, I copy the book information and location into my research plan. This helps me keep track of available resources. I also create a shelf in Goodreads to track books. In the notes feature, I list the location—library, bookstore, etc. This helps me scan books quickly and easily. It also gives me quick reviews on whether these are reliable and worthwhile sources. Planning ahead helps me be more efficient on research days. If I can pull books ahead of time (or have the pulled by the librarian), it means I can get right to work when I arrive. It also allows me to start pulling articles from databases without having to waste time looking for appropriate articles. Whatever I can do ahead, helps me during limited library or archive time.
Programs
There are many programs available for collating and organizing research and writing—too many to list here. Do your research to find the right programs for you. Only use the one or two that make sense. The worst thing to do is spread your research out too much, which defeats your primary goal of being able to find what you need when you need it. My recommendation is to choose one or two computer programs to help you stay organized and a paper file or notebook.
Index
Maintain one master list of your research (think index) that directs you to the exact location of your information by topic.
New School Options:
Admittedly, I am not the best person to cover digital options. There are many great programs out there and if you are a digital person, I highly recommend checking them out. Here are a few that appear on lists for writers and students. I cannot offer anything beyond a few names to look into as I’ve not used any of these. Sorry.
Mendeley
Evernote
Ulysses
OneNote
Simplenote
Google Keep
Zoho Notebook
Research requires focus and attention to detail.
I know it sounds daunting at first, but once you set up your system and start using it, it will become second nature. Trust me, you will thank me in the end when your editor calls and wants to check a fact in your article or manuscript.
This concludes the series on research. For now. I love doing research, so I may do more on this topic later. If you have any questions, feel free to post them. I will do my best to answer. I may even write a blog on it.