A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, Ninth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2018

Take notes systematically
Engaging your sources
Research and writing

Once you find and record a source you think you can use, you must read it purposefully and carefully. Then take notes in a way that will help you not only to remember and use what you have read but also to further your own thinking. Like the other steps in a research project, note-taking goes better with a plan.

4.2.1 Taking Notes on Paper

Years ago, the standard way to take notes on sources was to create a file of index cards (see figure 4.1). At the top left is the author, short title, and page number. At the top right are keywords that let the researcher sort and re-sort notes into different categories and orders. The body of the card summarizes the source, records a direct quotation, and includes a comment or thought about further research that is clearly distinguished from the quotation. At the bottom left is the call number for the source.

Figure 4.1. Example of a note card

A card like this seems old-fashioned, but it provides a template for efficient note-taking:

✵ ▪ Record complete bibliographic information for each source so that you can cite it properly and find it again easily.

✵ ▪ Separate notes on different topics, even if they come from the same source.

✵ ▪ Make sure your notes are accurate, because you need to be able to rely on them later. (If you want to quote more than a few lines, copy or save the passage or the whole document.)

✵ ▪ Clearly distinguish (1) what you quote from a source, (2) what you paraphrase or summarize from a source, and (3) your own thoughts. If you are writing on paper, use headings or brackets or distinct colors to differentiate these three different kinds of notes. You might also create a section specifically dedicated to your own responses, agreements, disagreements, speculations, and so on (see the italicized section in figure 4.1). That will encourage you to do more than simply record the content of what you read.

4.2.2 Taking Notes Electronically

When you take notes electronically, you have some options:

✵ ▪ You can use a word processor. Create a separate file (or at least a separate page) for each source, and be sure to unambiguously distinguish your words from those of your source. Though word processors are easy to use, they also limit your ability to index, organize, sort, and search your notes. For long or complex projects, you might consider other options.

✵ ▪ You can use a dedicated note-taking application to create and organize your notes. Such applications can help you to index, sort, and access your notes. But since they sometimes use proprietary formats, they can make it difficult to share your notes or use them with other programs.

✵ ▪ You can use a full-featured citation management program. In addition to allowing you to make your own notes, these programs can often pull information directly from online library catalogs and databases, and they can format and update your bibliographies as you write. Some will even store full electronic copies of your sources, creating a personal library for your project. But like note-taking applications, these programs sometimes use proprietary formats.

In electronic notes, as in notes on paper, you must clearly distinguish your own words and ideas from those of your source.

✵ ▪ Record quotations from your source in a distinctive color or font so that you can recognize them at a glance, and enclose them in large quotation marks in case the file loses its formatting.

✵ ▪ Record paraphrases from your source in a second color or font so that you can’t possibly mistake them for your own ideas, and enclose them in curly brackets in case the file loses its formatting.

✵ ▪ Record your own thoughts in a third color or font, and enclose them in square brackets. Put longer responses in a separate section so there is no chance you will mistake your own ideas for your source’s, or vice versa.

4.2.3 Decide Whether to Summarize, Paraphrase, or Quote

If you can photocopy, scan, or otherwise reproduce your source, or you know you can access it online when you write, you can focus less on preserving its exact words than on your engagement with it. Summarize the source, which will help you understand it, and note passages you might want to quote or paraphrase when you write. Note also your response to the source. Where did you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with it?

If you can’t preserve your source and you don’t know whether you will be able to access it later, you have a tougher choice. It takes too long to transcribe the exact words of every passage you might want to use, so when taking notes, you must choose as you go whether to quote, paraphrase, or summarize. Every choice depends on how you plan to use your source:

✵ ▪ Summarize when you need only the point of a passage, section, or even whole article or book. Summary is useful for context and for data or claims that are related—but not directly relevant—to your project. A summary of a source can never serve as good evidence (see 5.4.2).

✵ ▪ Paraphrase when the specific words of a passage are less important than its meaning. Paraphrase doesn’t mean changing just a word or two. You must replace most of the words and phrasing of the original with your own (see 7.9.2). As evidence, a paraphrase is never as good as a direct quotation.

✵ ▪ Record exact quotations for these purposes:

o ▪ The quoted words are evidence that backs up your reasons. If, for example, you claimed that different regions responded to the Battle of the Alamo differently, you would quote exact words from different newspapers. You would paraphrase them if you needed only their general sentiments.

o ▪ The words are from an authority you plan to rely on or challenge.

o ▪ The words are strikingly original or so compelling that the quotation can frame the rest of your discussion.

o ▪ The words express a claim that you disagree with, and to be fair you want to state it exactly.

If you don’t record important words now, you can’t quote them later. So copy or photocopy more passages than you think you’ll need (for more on photocopying, see 4.3.1).

Never abbreviate a quotation thinking you can accurately reconstruct it later. You can’t. And if you misquote, you’ll damage your credibility.

4.2.4 Guard against Inadvertent Plagiarism

For students and professionals alike, sloppy note-taking has caused grief ranging from ridicule for trivial errors to professional exile for inadvertent plagiarism. To avoid that risk, commit to heart these two iron rules for recording information in notes:

✵ ▪ Always unambiguously identify words and ideas from a source so that weeks or months later you cannot possibly mistake them for your own. As recommended above, record quotations and paraphrases with quotation marks, as well as in a font or color that unambiguously distinguishes them from your own ideas.

✵ ▪ Never paraphrase a source so closely that a reader can match the phrasing and sense of your words with those in your source (see 7.9.2).

In fact, rather than retyping quotations of more than a few lines, download or photocopy them. Add to the top of the downloaded or photocopied pages the name of the source and keywords for sorting.

This is important: never assume that you can use what you find online without citing its source, even if it’s free and publicly available. You must acknowledge your use of anything you did not create yourself. (For more on plagiarism, see 7.9.)