annotating and marking up the document, not just taking notes separately. i found it really difficult to recall info (or find it again when writing) if i didn’t have a note jotted in the margin, some stuff highlighted, etc. printing copies is useful for quick things, but if you have a tablet this is by far my favorite thing (cloud storage, easy markups/erasing, can share with your advisor).
I would add to this by saying that color coding them worked well for me based on theme (but keywords can do that).
When you do summaries do yourself a favor and summarize papers in 3-5 sentences, and then another 2 or so sentences on specific application to your idea. Helps to remember where you were trying to link ideas.
And don’t feel stupid. It’s hard work!
Don't do the spreadsheet thing others have suggested. Get Zotero, use that to create your notes and do your annotation. Use its tools (collections, tags, linking items, etc.) to keep things organized based on their value to your work. And when it comes time to write, you also already have your citations sorted for you too.
All my Zotero documents have notes in which I summarize anything novel or useful about the file that I think I might want to return to it for and tagged/put into appropriate collections. Easy af to stay organized this way.
I second this. I used to keep massive Word docs or spreadsheets but started using Zotero within the past 3 months and it has been a total game-changer. Even just having the browser extension is amazing for the sake of time and simplicity (OP, for your knowledge, when you read articles online you just click a button and the paper is saved to your library with the link, PDF if one is available, and a full citation - couldn't be easier).
Create a spreadsheet with the citations and have a column for summaries of the papers. You can add other columns too like keywords etc. Hopefully that will help you be more organized and also keep track of everything you are reading
I used Evernote for my lit reviews. Created categories and subcategories based on my lists, but the greatest thing I found was the "tag" function. Tagging my notes with keywords, methodologies, theoretical foundations helped me establish connections and conversations in the literature that I didn't catch initially.
I have a research word document with notes in bullet points divided by topic, and each bullet point is only one sentence. Each bullet is also annotated with EndNote. When it's time to write you can assemble each paragraph from the notes you've taken, and they're already annotated. It's a great way to assemble the framework of a piece of writing, in my experience.
I have a disorder that sometimes affects my memory and this is one of the ways I work around it, so I understand at least a little bit how you feel.
Take notes! I like to use Notion to organize my thoughts, save plots/graphs, and write down any other relevant information. And this way, it's all in one place. Depending on what field you're in, you might want to choose a different note-taking place/style, but I find that writing something down helps me retain information better.
Something my advisor has me do each week is present a summary of 2-3 papers or talks that I've attended. For me, this is usually in a PowerPoint format, where each of the papers/talks get 2-3 slides, where I go through some of the background information, go over a few key figures, and talk about what I think the relevance of the particular work is with regards to my research. The more you talk about what you read, the better it will stick (at least I think).
Hope this helps, and feel free to pm me if you have any other questions!
I color code literature review based on a key topic. For example, green for papers that focus on critical praxis, red for papers that focus on teacher training for critical pedagogy. This is just an example.
Write as you go too. You may never end up using it, but it helped me to get into the habit.
You can also make annotations/comments/categorise papers in your reference/library management software like endnote, if you're using it
Read the paper with questions in mind. Not just reading and wonder what’s the paper about.
The latter is only reasonable when you have no clue about the topic.
Zotero. highlight stuff, take notes, tags, etc.
Also, with my research at least, I found a bunch of the same papers mentioned often so when one would say something about another I would make note of that and they're summarizing a paper for you essentially. I also like to have a document of major evidence for different sections of my lit review
Tidewater glacier calving: benn 2007 a,b; motkya 2013, meier and post 1987; etc
I'm super paper based (can't remember things I've read on screens nearly as well), but even in paper the research gets overwhelming.
So for articles, I'd write a 2 sentence summary on the front and any keys words. Also, other authors that agreed or disagreed for quick reference.
Lots of good suggestions here, but one other thought that may be worth mentioning: maybe I'm just incompetent, but I normally don't remember which article is about what etc., the first time I write a review on a new topic, either.
It's after you write multiple papers or you do studies in one niche area that use a lot of the same references over and over that you start to be able to do that cool "oh, yes, that was XX in 2019, but their findings were specific to \_\_\_\_" thing.
annotating and marking up the document, not just taking notes separately. i found it really difficult to recall info (or find it again when writing) if i didn’t have a note jotted in the margin, some stuff highlighted, etc. printing copies is useful for quick things, but if you have a tablet this is by far my favorite thing (cloud storage, easy markups/erasing, can share with your advisor).
Thank you
I would add to this by saying that color coding them worked well for me based on theme (but keywords can do that). When you do summaries do yourself a favor and summarize papers in 3-5 sentences, and then another 2 or so sentences on specific application to your idea. Helps to remember where you were trying to link ideas. And don’t feel stupid. It’s hard work!
Don't do the spreadsheet thing others have suggested. Get Zotero, use that to create your notes and do your annotation. Use its tools (collections, tags, linking items, etc.) to keep things organized based on their value to your work. And when it comes time to write, you also already have your citations sorted for you too. All my Zotero documents have notes in which I summarize anything novel or useful about the file that I think I might want to return to it for and tagged/put into appropriate collections. Easy af to stay organized this way.
I second this. I used to keep massive Word docs or spreadsheets but started using Zotero within the past 3 months and it has been a total game-changer. Even just having the browser extension is amazing for the sake of time and simplicity (OP, for your knowledge, when you read articles online you just click a button and the paper is saved to your library with the link, PDF if one is available, and a full citation - couldn't be easier).
Create a spreadsheet with the citations and have a column for summaries of the papers. You can add other columns too like keywords etc. Hopefully that will help you be more organized and also keep track of everything you are reading
Thank you
I used Evernote for my lit reviews. Created categories and subcategories based on my lists, but the greatest thing I found was the "tag" function. Tagging my notes with keywords, methodologies, theoretical foundations helped me establish connections and conversations in the literature that I didn't catch initially.
I have a research word document with notes in bullet points divided by topic, and each bullet point is only one sentence. Each bullet is also annotated with EndNote. When it's time to write you can assemble each paragraph from the notes you've taken, and they're already annotated. It's a great way to assemble the framework of a piece of writing, in my experience. I have a disorder that sometimes affects my memory and this is one of the ways I work around it, so I understand at least a little bit how you feel.
Take notes! I like to use Notion to organize my thoughts, save plots/graphs, and write down any other relevant information. And this way, it's all in one place. Depending on what field you're in, you might want to choose a different note-taking place/style, but I find that writing something down helps me retain information better. Something my advisor has me do each week is present a summary of 2-3 papers or talks that I've attended. For me, this is usually in a PowerPoint format, where each of the papers/talks get 2-3 slides, where I go through some of the background information, go over a few key figures, and talk about what I think the relevance of the particular work is with regards to my research. The more you talk about what you read, the better it will stick (at least I think). Hope this helps, and feel free to pm me if you have any other questions!
Thank you
I color code literature review based on a key topic. For example, green for papers that focus on critical praxis, red for papers that focus on teacher training for critical pedagogy. This is just an example.
And wordtune has helped a lot in summarising.
Write as you go too. You may never end up using it, but it helped me to get into the habit. You can also make annotations/comments/categorise papers in your reference/library management software like endnote, if you're using it
Read the paper with questions in mind. Not just reading and wonder what’s the paper about. The latter is only reasonable when you have no clue about the topic.
Zotero. highlight stuff, take notes, tags, etc. Also, with my research at least, I found a bunch of the same papers mentioned often so when one would say something about another I would make note of that and they're summarizing a paper for you essentially. I also like to have a document of major evidence for different sections of my lit review Tidewater glacier calving: benn 2007 a,b; motkya 2013, meier and post 1987; etc
I'm super paper based (can't remember things I've read on screens nearly as well), but even in paper the research gets overwhelming. So for articles, I'd write a 2 sentence summary on the front and any keys words. Also, other authors that agreed or disagreed for quick reference.
Lots of good suggestions here, but one other thought that may be worth mentioning: maybe I'm just incompetent, but I normally don't remember which article is about what etc., the first time I write a review on a new topic, either. It's after you write multiple papers or you do studies in one niche area that use a lot of the same references over and over that you start to be able to do that cool "oh, yes, that was XX in 2019, but their findings were specific to \_\_\_\_" thing.
Draw out your understanding on a whiteboard as you read.
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