A Research Journal Can Help You Keep Notes
I have to write a literature review for my principal's thesis. When I wanted to start, I didn't know how to create a list of scientific papers to read and how to manage this growing list of literature. How do I keep track of all open tabs on my browser? How to detect a paper Ten which used such a method? How to order and classify scientific papers?
There are Mendeley and Zotero, two well-known tools for saving articles and generating bibliographies, just these are only useful for keeping a listing of papers. In that location is little customization possible at the folder or tag level. In any example, they never met my needs. Zotero only serves me as a bank of scientific articles, aught more.
If y'all desire to build yourself a real listing of scientific articles classified according to your needs, as in the prototype beneath, go along reading this commodity to discover my method!
Why apply Notion for academic research?
I was looking for a tool that would allow me to create my own fields to filter out articles that I found during my literature search.
For example:
- Rating to say how interesting the article is for my research
- Reading priority
- The main subject
- Reading status: to read/read
What sets Notion apart from all competitors is that this annotation-taking tool offers the possibility of personalizing everything from A to Z, which allowed me to customize the tool exactly for my needs and what I needed for my literature review.
Of course, the primary disadvantage of Notion is that since it is a very customizable tool, the learning curve is quite steep: it is difficult to sympathize how Notion works when you start.
I started using Notion with the electric current projection I'thou going to explain in this blog post, and so if you have never used Notion before, you should exist able to go started with this project!
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How to use Notion to manage literature for graduate students
Get-go steps on Notion & Creating the database
Start past creating an account on Notion. From the left card, create a new page. Enter a title, and you lot tin also choose an icon to represent the page! Then, select "Table" under "Database" to create a new database to offset entering your scientific papers.
If you desire to skip this footstep, you can straight starting time using the free template that I am offer you lot. You only accept to indistinguishable it. The page will be imported into your personal space on Notion.
Now that the database is created, we need to fill it up! To do then, I used the Google Chrome extension from Notion.
Add scientific papers with the Notion Chrome Extension
When I'thousand on the website with the paper or PDF, I click on Notion's Chrome extension and so select the database I want to add the new article. That's it! The article is and so automatically added to the database with a directly link to the web page.
Then, you lot can delete the 3 empty rows that were entered in the database automatically.
So, after adding a few papers, you get a database in which ALL of your papers are referenced, regardless of their inquiry subject or methodology. Later, nosotros'll see how to create different "views" to sort through the papers.
Adding a newspaper using the Notion Chrome extension is very easy!
How to get the reference of the papers in the Notion database?
I employ the Google Scholar Chrome extension to go the BibTex entry for that paper. All that I need to do is to select the title of the paper before clicking on the Google Scholar icon.
Add together backdrop to the research papers
Now that you've learned how to add papers to the database, the next step is to customize the properties you want for the papers! Backdrop are certain fields we tin create to draw the papers in the database. There are many different kinds of properties i can create:
- Text
- Number
- Select (1 choice only), Multi-Select (Multiple choices)
- Dates (Custom date, Created date, Terminal Updated Appointment)
- Emails
- Formulas
- Files & Media
- Tag a Person
Now that you know what a property is, it's time to create some! To do this, click on a paper's title to open up the page. Then click on "Add a Property" and add the properties you want. Every belongings you add will be added to the consummate database. You tin start with just a few properties that you lot think will be useful to yous, and you tin always add more than afterwards every bit you lot learn to use Notion and discover new ideas for sorting your bookish literature!
Here are some ideas of properties:
- Status: To Read, Currently Reading, Finished Reading, which is a Select
- Interesting? : 1 to iii stars rating, using Select
- Link to the article, using an URL property
- The date that you read the article, using a Date property
Then you lot can add properties that are directly related to your search. For instance, as I'm working on 3 specific Parkinson'due south disease symptoms, I added a "option" holding that lists the symptoms the newspaper discusses.
The following epitome shows the properties that I created in my main database to requite you lot some ideas and inspire you lot. I have a lot! Y'all don't have to create that many backdrop. For me, my database grew from week to week, and I added more and more backdrop that I found interesting for my enquiry.
Add different views to sort your papers
The side by side step is to create different views to visualize the papers. A view is a style of filtering your main database and saving the filter with a specific name so that you can return to information technology later. You tin can filter the papers according to the properties nosotros just created. For example, I created a view that will just show me the papers that I added the tag "To-Read":
For example, the image beneath shows all of the unlike "views" I have of my primary database.
- All: The main database that volition bear witness all the papers with no filter
- Comparing Tabular array: A view that shows sure properties that I have selected. It's a little bit like an Excel table for me. I use this view to compare the papers for my literature review.
- To Read: List of papers that I identified as a priority to read for my research.
- Read: List of papers that I finished reading.
- Symptoms: 3 different views showing only papers that are related to a specific Parkinson'southward Disease symptom
- Uncontrolled Env: List of studies that were done in controlled laboratory environments
- Scripted Tasks: Again, this view is for my research, but information technology's a distinction between different ways to evaluate the disease with smartwatches
Finally, here is an case of what my Reading List looks like, listing papers I identified as admittedly wanting to read:
And here is a screenshot of my "Comparison tabular array" view that I utilise very often:
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Conclusion
I hope this commodity has been useful for yous and helps you build the nuts of your ain Notion system for managing your scientific papers! Adapt this method to your needs, and don't hesitate to share your projects with me. I'grand curious to know what y'all will come upwards with!
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