Research Databases: Note Taking

Effective Research Notes:

• are specific to your research question
• include paraphrased ideas from your sources
• include "quotations" from your sources (copy/paste with quotation marks around the words)
• include citations
• include your original ideas on the topic

Paraphrase

• rewrite an idea using your own words and your own sentence structure; cite the source. 

Quote

• record the author's words exactly as they appear on the source; put quotation marks around the words; cite the source. 

Getting Information

• consult multiple authoritative sources (think critically - if something is repeated on the Internet, it does not make the information accurate!)