[ Integrating Sources ]
Take notes and annotate sources
Annotating as you read and recording adequate information in the appropriate format is critical
to incorporating sources accurately in your final project.
For an overview of related key topics on integrating sources, visit the videos and quizzes in this tutorial.
Explore It
As you research, you will want to keep copies and annotate the sources you find. Download or copy sources
to make notes and annotate—record observations, ask questions, pinpoint data to use, and comment on the
overall effectiveness of each source. These annotations will help you sort and organize sources to determine
which will be most useful as support for your thesis.
ANNOTATING AND TAKING NOTES ON A SOURCE
Consequences are
often serious, not mild.
I’ve seen
this happen.
People suffer
long-term
at 3 months and 9 percent at 12 months adter injury
effects to
employment.
34 percent
pre-injury factors such as age, alcohol Summary:
abuse, educational level, and neuropsychiatric history, and post-injury factors such as more study
stress, litigation, and compensation claims may affect the recovery
may be needed.
How does this
connect to 2011
data on nonfatal TBI?
CREDIT: From National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Report to Congress on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in the
United States: Steps to Prevent a Serious Public Health Problem. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003.
© 2016 Cengage Learning
Take notes and annotate sources |
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[ Using the Library ]
Learn It
When you download or make copies of sources you would like to consult, preserve the page numbers and
other identifying information. Note key information on the file or photocopy, including author, title, date,
and other publication information.
Annotating a source as you read it will help you to read it critically. As you annotate, consider how you
might put the source to use in your own research project and progress toward your own understanding.
GUIDELINES FOR ANNOTATING AND TAKING NOTES
• Read sources actively, making marginal comments—in electronic files and on print copies.
• Underline or highlight key words and ideas.
• Jot down questions in the margins and make notes about your reactions, feelings, and thoughts as you
read.
• Find definitions for any terms you aren’t familiar with and briefly note them in the margin.
• Write down connections to other sources or other information on the topic.
• Note details or points that surprise you or anything that seems to run counter to the rest of the source.
• Summarize important or confusing passages, recording the author’s thesis and main ideas objectively, in
your own words. A summary should offer a condensed, accurate sense of a passage; it is a valuable tool
that will help you remain clear about the source’s usefulness to your research.
Use It
When you search for articles via your library site or on Questia, note that there may be note-taking features
that allow you to annotate sources you find there. In Questia, for example, there are several features:
• Highlight and Add Private Note features help you focus on key ideas and respond to the
text as you read it.
• Shared Notes help you collaborate with others—including classmates or an instructor—
and generate additional ideas as you read.
Go to Questia and browse for a source of interest to you. Read the source, using the tabs in Questia to make
notes and highlight useful information. Then print this same source and practice making additional
marginal notes and recording ideas on the paper copy. Which method do you like better? Might another
method—like dedicating a text file for ideas or using a recording device for collecting verbal comments—
actually work better for you?
© 2016 Cengage Learning
Take notes and annotate sources |
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