Historical Methods Course Blog

Based on the blog postings and our experiences, these are the various formats we use to take notes for research papers.

1. Note Cards
2. Post-It Notes
3. Word Processor (with or without templates)
   1. Outlines or free-form notes
4. Citation (or other pay note-taking software like Nota Bene)
5. Microsoft OneNote
6. Excel/Access–For information in larger quantities that is consistent in its form (e.g., the census).
7. Scribe — GMU’s CHNM free note-taking software
8. Zotero — CHNM’s free Internet research tool [See Demo] [Read a review of the tool and its limitations at Inside Higher Ed]

Good tips from the class blogs

1. Start with the bibliographic info — Jessica & others
2. Keep track of location of all information and note useful quotes — Justin
3. Use hanging indents to separate information in early stages — Jessica
4. Begin to organize materials by argument early on — Jessica & Cheryl
5. Use a preliminary outline to help organize — Ellen
6. Use a table to keep track of themes or arguments — Amanda
7. Color Coding — Kari