LIBR 2100 Course Materials [ORIGINAL]]

Research gets messy; you review a lot of materials, start to look at related materials, or "citation chase" and quickly have a lot of sources such as books, articles, and websites to keep track of. This is particularly true in today's online environment where it's so easy to link back and forth between sources (and lose track of where you clicked).

Organization is key to good academic research, and developing a systematic way to keep track of details will save you last-minute frustration trying to find out where you got the information you want to use in your paper. This is not only stressful for you as you write, it can lead to unintended plagiarism.

One way to keep organized is a research log. RefWorks is a citation management program the Mount Library provides as a way to store information about your sources in the cloud, making it easy to review them, organize them, and create bibliographies from them. Ref-Grab-It is an add-on to your browser. It enables you to store web site information for citation purposes.

What Is RefWorks?

"RefWorks is a web-based bibliography and database manager that allows you to create your own personal database by importing references from text files or online databases and other various sources. You can use these references in writing papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds" (ProQuest, n.d., para 1).

ProQuest. (n.d.) What is RefWorks? Retrieved from https://www.refworks.com/refworks2/help/Welcome.htm

Please visit the RefWorks Guide for more details.

A research log is simply a system of keeping track of all your sources and why you want to use them. It could be:

• a text file that you update as you research
• index cards (one for each source)
• a document that you complete for each source (here is an excellent example from the University of Manitoba Academic Learning Centre)
• an audio file that you keep as a reminder
• RefWorks or other bibliographic management tools
• any other system that works for you: colour coding, sticky notes, etc.

Ideally, a research log should contain

• the source, with its complete bibliographic citation in the preferred style (being systematic now saves you from doing it in a rush later)
• the date you found the materials (especially for Internet sources which are changeable)
• the search method used (e.g., what keywords/subjects worked?)
• why did you think it was useful for your research?
• direct quotes or paraphrases of particularly important points, with page or paragraph numbers

Additional tips:

• whatever system you use, be consistent with its content and layout. Keep the same information in the same area for quick reference
• scan to make sure your source is credible and useful before creating a research log citation or RefWorks entry. Be tough and eliminate those that aren't relevant. Trying to sort through sources that are both good and bad can be confusing and frustrating as your deadline approaches.

Adapted from:

University of Manitoba. Academic Learning Centre. (2015). Research log. Retrieved from http://umanitoba.ca/student/academiclearning/media/Research_Log_NEW.pdf

University of Toronto Libraries. (2016, January 6). Track your research. Retrieved June 19, 2016 from http://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=251104&p=1673081