1. MAKING NOTES FOR RESEARCH
Note Making starts with READING
BUT
You do not need to read a text from beginning to end to find relevant information,

2. Before we start…
We need to understand the structure of text

3. a non-fiction book table of contents chapter headings & subheadings
sections in bold
diagrams & charts
glossary
an index at the back

4. an article abstract (will provide an outline of the article)
headings / sub-headings
sections
charts & diagrams.

5. a paragraph Each paragraph is made up of 3 parts.
The first sentence of the paragraph is called the topic sentence and contains the main idea, point or argument.
[note this]
What follows is evidence – details, examples and facts that support the main idea.
[make note of only the important facts]
The final sentence is a summary and explains the connection of this paragraph to the main theme of the article.
[record the main conclusions the author makes]

6. There is no one best or effective way of taking or making notes, essentially, note taking styles fall into three main types:
Linear Notes
Visual or Pattern Notes
Voice Notes

7. Linear Notes
The SQ3R reading strategy is an efficient way to get the most out of reading and allows you to make effective notes without PLAGIARIZING

8. What is SQ3R?
Survey
Question
Read
Recall
Review

9. SURVEY
Skim through the text quickly to get a general idea of its structure, content and purpose.
Pay particular attention to the contents, chapter headings, section headings, diagrams and illustrations.
At this stage, do not read everything word for word.
Maybe, read the topic sentence of each paragraph.
The idea of this survey stage is to get the big picture, or an overview, of the article, chapter or section of text that you need to study.
You should only take a minute or two to complete this step.

10. QUESTION
In order to make the most of this learning experience you need to start asking yourself questions about the passage.
Start with the headings and subheadings. They should help to organize the paragraphs into a structure that you can base your questions around.
Try to reword the headings into questions.
Continue in this way until you have created a question (or two) for each heading.
There are many templates around to help this process or you can create your own
At this stage, have a think about whether or not he text is relevant or if it’s current and if it suits the purpose of your study.

11. READ read the passage or chapter.
keep your questions in mind as you read,
search for the answers, important facts or the author’s opinions and ideas.

12. RECITE Look away from the text
write your answers beside the questions you formulated on your template
Use only words/keywords/phrases
Devise abbreviations, use bullet points, dashes or numerals for different ideas
Make notes in your own words – shorten main sentences, leave out unnecessary words, re-arrange the sentence
Use quotation marks for direct quotes

13. REVIEW Return to the text and review your answers against the text.
Make any corrections or amendments.

14. REPEAT THIS PROCESS FOR AT LEAST 3 SOURCES
But wait… THERE IS MORE

15. Think about the following
Who is the author what are their credentials?
Look at the date of publication
Who is the intended audience?
Is the information presented fact, opinion or propaganda?
How well does the work cover your topic?
Is the text easy to read? Is it set out logically?

16. RECORD BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
Manually using template in the library
Online using the Online Reference Generator

17. VISUAL NOTES
You could also create a mind map of flow chart from your notes, adding pictures and symbols to make it even easier to spark your memory of the facts when you need them.

18. mind mapping…

19. flow chart…

20. For Good Research Use more than one source
Use different kinds of sources e.g. book, internet, etc
Use topics and sub-topics
Make short, ordered notes
Make separate notes from each source using the same headings
Write your final piece from the notes
Record bibliographic details of all sources used