MA Week 2 - Notes on notes....

One of the things I need to get my head round PDQ is how to make notes on lectures, notes on books and papers I’m reading, and how to keep a Research Methods Journal. 

I am a maker of copious written notes. I already have multiple notebooks on the go for this MA course, which makes me feel mighty happy as I love notebooks. I love the blank pages, the joy of the lovely paper, the ability to write in them in my small, black writing, the physical action of writing. It helps me think. There are lots of arrows and bullet points and exclamations. I think in words and my thoughts transfer seamlessly to the paper. It’s a technique honed via many a lecture and meeting over the past whatever number of years. 

Writing notes in the taught sessions is fine, and I can review them at leisure and make connections and conclusions. Mind maps and ruminations about the presentations I need to do are also good in the notebook. However, I have been struggling a little with notes from textbooks. With the need to be able to quote and to give page numbers, I wondered about going straight into a word processor. The recommended text by Blaxter et al (2010, p. 121) suggests doing this. I gave it a go but it took far more time than handwriting (above)! Using the computer seemed to make me go into overdrive with detailed quotes, rather than my usual annotated scribbles. I also found, perversely, that I remembered less of what I’d read – presumably because I hadn’t physically written it. So, I’ve now reverted to my hand-written notes and hand-written quotes. I’ve introduced a new tactic of writing a short summary, a few sentences, at the end of each piece of reading. This seems to be working well for now.

 

I’ve decided I have to give blogging a try for the Research Methods Journal…. so here we are. This seems to be the best way to deal with being able to keep up the journal whilst having to have it “handed in” at the same time. It also makes it easier to insert images, rather than having to print them and physically cut and paste.

 

There are pros and cons though. I seem to associate using the computer with work- business- rather than anything for pleasure. On the other hand I can edit my past entries if I so desire, rewrite history, in a way that would be obvious in a written notebook. This could be useful in a positive way if I want to add something new to a previous post on a particular topic.

Let’s see how it goes.