Management of information

Objectives Discuss the benefits of good management practice Present reference management tools Present bookmark management tools Explain some information management techniques

Expected outcomes At the end of this module, one should be able : – To understand the importance of properly managing information resources – To store information in a reference management software – To edit information stored with a reference management software – To bookmark web resources efficiently

Introduction It is common for people to forget information they did not save to be unable to retrieve a document they stored to look for the same thing more then once These are consequences of lack of organization bad information management practices

Management of information: definition Management of information consists of a set of actions performed on information and information resources in organized and systematic way: collecting, storing, organizing, annotating, commenting, citing, sharing

Importance of good information management Reduced risk of loosing information Storage prevents lost Organization makes information easy to find Saving time and energy Efforts are not duplicated in searching again Notes reduce the need to read multiple times Improved productivity Efforts are spent in finding new information and asking new questions

Focus of this module Materials to manage – Bibliographic references – Bookmarks – Documents Management tools – Reference managemet software – Browsers' bookmark feature – Online bookmarks Management techniques

Reference Management

Management of bibliographic references Tools used= Reference Management Software Desktop applications : EndNote, Procite Online tools : Connotea, CiteUlike Mix solution : Zotero Activities Add, edit, delete citations Add personal notes Group citations Generate list of references

Bibliographic reference Information about a document: book, journal article, web page, etc. It provides: description of the document description of the content information about the location

Reference management techniques Adopt a tool for managing citations you work with In a reference management software Use collection to store citations Collect citations by  Creating them  Importing from external sources Add personal notes to citations: keywords ; comments and notes

Bibliography management software Software for storing bibliographic references Functionalities : Collect citations, Store citations, Group citations, Enrich / annotate, Reuse citations in new documents.

Software selection criteria Operating system Pricing Storage mode Functionalities Data formats: import / export Integration with other softwares

Collecting references Manual creation Importing from external sources such as PubMed:  Retrieve citations in a database  Save citations in a file in the appropriate format (RIS, BibTex, EndNote)  Import the file

Storage modes Local hard drive Pros : fast, private, internet no required,, integration with word processor Cons : risk of destruction, limited user mobility Remote online server Pros : user mobility, collaboration, Cons: internet needed, not integrated with word processors Local storage & remote server

Organizing citations Group references in collections (libraries) Add personal notes: reading notes, personal appreciation, comments Tag records with meaningful keywords: Indicate content Indicate location Indicate actions to perform

Zotero Open Source reference management software URL : Exists as : Firefox Extension ; Standalone application Functionalities : import from files, online sources ; generate bibliographies, Backup data in the remote server, integrates with word processors: Word, OpenOffice

Exercise #1 In your reference management software Create a collection (a library) Create a new citation to describe a journal article you found on internet Import 5 citations retrieved in Pubmed Add your personal personal notes and tags generate a list of references.

Activities 1. Install zotero 2.Create a collection, 3.Add citations in the collection 1.Manually create a citation 2.Import citations from Pubmed 4.Annotate citations with notes and tags, 5.Generate a bibliography 6.Cite references in a document 1.Create a word document, 2.Cite 3 documents, 3.Generate the list of references

Bookmark Management

Bookmark management Bookmark = record of the location (URI) of a webpage Bookmark management tools Browser feature (menu) Online bookmarking websites

Working with a browser (1/2) Internet explorer => « Favorites » Firefox => « Bookmarks » Add book mark while browsing At the moment of creation URI and tile is automatically stored Edit description Add new bookmarks in appropriate folders

Working with a browser (2/2) Bookmark manager allow user To modify bookmarks : edit title, description To Group and organize bookmarks  Create folder  Moving bookmarks accross folders  Attach tags (keywords) to bookmarks Delete bookmarks Export (In Firefox « Bookmarks / Manage bookmarks »)

Bookmarking techniques Bookmark as you browse Group bookmarks into folders Tag bookmarks with keyworks Add meaningful descriptions Discard not needed bookmarks Create backup copies

Online Bookmarking Online bookmarking = social bookmarking Websites used by many internet users Allow sharing and access to other users' content Many existing tools : Delicious, Yahoo Boomarks, Google bookmarks User needs : an account (username + password) Internet link to add and consult bookmarks Provide browser toolbar for quick addition

Online bookmarking To add bookmarks Open a session (login with username/password) Click on the add new button or link Enter required information : title, URI, description, tag To access Private bookmarks require authentication Browse using tags Search using keyworks

Activity #2 Open your browser Add to your bookmarks the following ressources : pubmed, pubmed central, BMJ, Popline Open the bookmark manager Create two folders « scientific journals », « bibliographic database » Move the about webpages to the appropiate folders Add a little description to each bookmark

Digital document management

Organizing personal collection of digital documents Managing digital ressources Group files into folders Give meaningful names to files and folders Be consistent in organization and naming Avoid storing documents in multiple locations Make several copies for safety and backup Reference documents as you collect Deleted not needed document