Drama Library

The Notebook: Organizing your research

A good notebook organizes you and your information

• Log
  • diary of information on your search process
  • keep track of people you've spoken to: names, addresses, a brief summary of what they said
  • Brainstorm ideas list ideas don't criticize them
  • Write them as soon as you have them, don't rely on your memory
  • ideas not used in one project may be used in another

• Research
  • includes written and graphic information, e.g., charts, tables, etc.
  • write the full citation on anything you copy - you will need this for your bibliography & footnotes
  • if your source abbreviates magazine titles, find the full title
  • the online catalog lets you search for books by author, title, subject & keyword
  • a journal search DOES NOT FIND JOURNAL ARTICLES. To find articles select the appropriate subject database from the Information Gateway or a printed index

• Resources
  • contains specific information on where you looked
  • subject and keyword terms
  • years and issues of indexes checked
  • some people copy the first page of an article twice and keep the page in this section

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