Research
Using Notecards
What is a Notecard?
• Index card for notes & information
from reference material
• 5 x 7 is preferred
• These note cards are your reminders
of what you might include in your
written report.
What to include on a
Note card
• Bibliographical information
• Main ideas: Select & put in your own
words
• Important statistics: Include these
in notes
Remember….
• Taking good notes is a very important
part of researching. It is from this
information that you will be writing
your research paper. The more
information that you gather and
summarize on your notes cards, the
easier your research paper will be to
organize and write.
Hints for taking notes
• The more notes cards you have, the
easier your report will be to write.
• Organize note cards by color or
number. (Numbers go in upper left.)
• Write a heading or question at the
beginning of the notes to notate the
type of information on that card.
• Summarize the information from the
resource.
• Write down main ideas and facts.
• DO NOT copy word for word unless
you plan to quote the author in your
paper.
• Make sure to write down the page
number(s) where you find information,
whether using a direct quotation or
not.
• Write the page number for any charts
or statistics.
• Make sure you have all reference
information.
Bibliographical
Information
• Needed for any reference that you use
while researching.
• Include name of article, book, web site,
etc. (May = 2 or 3 things)
• Include name of author.
• Include publisher, date, city, state, and
pages used in the research process.
Books
• Name of author or authors (last name
first)
• Title of book (Underlined if typing or
writing & italicized if using computer)
• Place of publication (city and state
• Publisher
• Date of publication
Magazine Articles
• Name of author or authors (last name
first)
• “Title of the article” (quotation
marks)
• Name of magazine (italicized)
• Month and year of publication
• Page numbers of article
Encyclopedia Articles
• Title of encyclopedia (italicized)
• Date of edition (followed by “ed”)
• “Title of the subject” (quotation
marks)
• Author’s name (if available)
CD-ROM
Give all information
available
•
•
•
•
•
•
Author’s last name, first name
“Article title” (quotation marks)
Periodical title
Title of database
Name of vendor/company/or service
Date (of publication)
Internet & Web Sites
Provide the following
categories of information.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Author’s name (last, first)
“Article title”
Date posted (if available)
Name of site
Posted by..
Date accessed
<URL address>