Feeling Overwhelmed by Research Organize Your Notes

When working on a large project, students can sometimes become overwhelmed by all the information they gather in their research. This can happen when a student is working on a  research paper with many segments or when several students are working on a large project together. In group research, each student can come up with a stack of notes, and when the work is all combined, the paperwork creates a confusing mountain of notes! If you struggle with this problem you may find relief in this coding technique. Overview This organization method involves three main steps: Sorting research into piles, forming sub-topicsAssigning a letter to each segment or â€Å"pile†Numbering and coding the pieces in each pile This may sound like a time-consuming process, but you will soon find that organizing your research is  time well spent! Organizing Your Research First of all, don’t ever hesitate to use your bedroom floor as an important first tool when it comes to getting organized. Many books begin their lives as bedroom floor-piles of paperwork which eventually become chapters. If you are starting with a mountain of papers or index cards, your first goal is to divide your work into preliminary piles that represent segments or chapters (for smaller projects these would be paragraphs). Don’t worry—you can always add or take away chapters or segments as needed. It won’t be long before you realize that some of your papers (or note cards) contain information that could fit into one, two, or three different places. That’s normal, and you’ll be pleased to know that there is a good way to deal with the problem. You will assign a number to each piece of research. Note: Make absolutely certain that each piece of research contains full citation information. Without reference information, each piece of research is worthless. How to Code Your Research To illustrate the method that uses numbered research papers, we’ll use a research assignment entitled â€Å"Bugs in My Garden.† Under this topic you might decide to start out with the following subtopics which will become your piles: A) Plants and Bugs IntroductionB) Fear of BugsC) Beneficial BugsD) Destructive BugsE) Bug Summary Make a sticky note or note card for each pile, labeled A, B, C, D, and E and start sorting your papers accordingly. Once your piles are complete, start labeling each piece of research with a letter and a number. For example, the papers in your â€Å"introduction† pile will be labeled with A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on. As you sort through your notes, you might find it hard to determine which pile is best for each piece of research. For example, you may have a note card that concerns wasps. This information could go under â€Å"fear† but it also fits under â€Å"beneficial bugs,† as wasps eat leaf-eating caterpillars! If you have a hard time assigning a pile, try to put the research into the topic that will come earliest in the writing process. In our example, the wasp piece would go under â€Å"fear.† Put your piles into separate folders labeled A, B, C, D, and E. Staple the appropriate note card to the outside of its matching folder. Start Writing Logically, you would start  writing your paper using the research in your A (intro) pile. Each time you work with a piece of research, take a moment to consider if it would fit into a later segment. If so, place that paper in the next folder and make a note of it on the index card of that folder. For example, when you are finished writing about wasps in segment B, place your wasp research in folder C. Make a note of this on the folder C note card to help maintain organization. As you write your paper you should insert the letter/number code each time you use or refer to a piece of research—instead of putting citations in as you write. Then once you’ve completed your paper you can go back and replace codes with citations. Note: Some researchers prefer to go ahead and create full citations as they write. This can eliminate a step, but it can become confusing if you are working with footnotes or endnotes and you attempt to re-arrange and edit. Still Feeling Overwhelmed? You might experience some anxiety when you read back over your paper and realize that you need to restructure your paragraphs and move information from one segment to another. This is not a problem when it comes to the labels and categories that you’ve assigned to your research. The important thing is making sure that each piece of research and each quote is coded. With proper coding, you can always find a piece of information when you need it—even if you’ve moved it around several times.

The 5 Elements Of Effective Thinking - 1002 Words

Shocked standing in confusion you find out your friend intentionally failed at something you needed help with. Trying to grasp the reason they failed you you are dumbfounded. Some people believe that failure is essential for success. In the book, The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, the authors, Edward Burger and Michael Starbird, state that a person should intentionally fail in order to succeed. However, this stance is inaccurate because it goes against biblical evidence, causes psychological problems, and make success impossible in the professional world. Failing by intention is not a biblically sound concept; it undermines many biblical truths. In Acts 17:30 we are commanded to repent from sin. You can not repent from sin if you are intentionally failing. Repentance is to completely turn away from something. It was explained to me as a child that repentance is running away from something as fast as you can. If we apply the principle of intentional failure in our lives it undermines what the bible commands concerning sin. Paul in Romans 6:1-2 states â€Å"What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?† Paul is pointing out that we should not fail in our moral integrity simply because we can but rather strive to succeed. Through Christ we have forgiveness from sin. Regardless, that does not allow allow us to sin as we please. Failing should come about when we have put ourShow MoreRelatedThe Elements Of Thought And The Army Pro blem Solving Process Essay1461 Words   |  6 PagesThe Elements of Thought and the Army Problem Solving Process Critical thinking is an essential trait that every Army officer must possess. Officers must learn this trait and sharpen it through regular practice. The idea of critical thinking as a valuable aspect of the problem-solving process may seem daunting on the surface; however, it creates a more effective process in reaching crucial decisions for the Army officer. The critical thinking process, along with the elements of thought, used withRead MoreTeaching Skills As A Human Resource Practice Student1002 Words   |  5 Pagesworking for me and what isn’t. I will have to understand the concepts, theories and ideas that are much more appropriate for my level 4 and level 5. Practice will help me to recognise the weakness and build up confidence. I need to consider frequent study skills as a Human Resource Practice student to achieve Level 4 certification and utilize them in level 5. One of the main principles of study skills is time management. As a member of armed forces I will always be busy to do different kind of tasksRead MoreThe Theory Of The Change Theory1400 Words   |  6 Pagesmotivation and resources, †¢ phase 4: select progressive change objective, †¢ phase 5: choose the appropriate role of the change agent, †¢ phase 6: maintain change, and †¢ phase 7: terminate the helping relationship (Mitchell, 2013, p. 33). The assessment element includes the first three phases of Lippitt’s theory. Phase 4 and 5 encompass the planning element, and phases 6 and 7 comprise the implementation and evaluation elements, respectively (Mitchell, 2013, p. 33). Lippitt’s theory guides the project.Read MoreQuestions On Values And Values1493 Words   |  6 PagesDiscussion Topic #2 Prompts Prompt #1: Values Worksheet: What were your top 5 values? What kinds of defining characteristics did you associate with your values as you crossed them off the list one at a time until you had only one value listed? What did you learn about your values hierarchy through this activity? First, my top ten values were difficult in itself to pick out because I feel like I could have had many of the checklist highlighted. For instructional purposes I picked adventure, challengingRead MoreThe Problem And It s Background Essay1030 Words   |  5 Pagesfinish your work and submit it on the time given. Good decision making is one of the factors that we teachers must attain. Good decision making makes the teachers a good agent of learning to students and good decision making makes the teachers more effective in teaching-learning processes. We often think before we decide. Although in some cases, we make snap decisions maybe because of factors that affect our abilities to decide on a choice. Likewise, if we encountered a problem in teaching whereas theRead MoreLeadership : Leadership And Followership865 Words   |  4 Pagesperceived importance of leadership as an officer, an effective leadership style will be explained and how officers develop this particular leadership style. While leadership has a distinct presence within the professional work environment, followership is considered the underlying backbone in developing an effective high performing team. 2. Followership should be viewed as an active skill that must be developed in order to be considered an effective follower. According to the Air and Space Power JournalRead MoreAn Analysis Of Mermaid By Richard Van Camp709 Words   |  3 PagesRichard Van Camp, the author explores the realm of a true tragedy in this story through the use of the Aristotle style of the elements of tragedy displayed by the means of Torchy’s series of unfortunate events through willing blindness, dramatized actions and pity developed for the character throughout the novel. With a closer look one can identify Peripeteia among many elements of tragedy found within this novel. Torchy choosing to willfully blind himself from the truth leads himself and others toRead MoreLeadership And Followership Within A Military Group Setting928 Words   |  4 Pagesan effective high performing team. 2. According to the Air and Space Power Journal, followership is considered a discipline that when viewed from a professional perspective is considered an art and a science that requires a balance between the development of skills and the understanding of followership roles within a professional environment. Followership is an active skill that must be developed in order to be considered an effective follower. Three core skills that make up an effective followerRead More1. What Is The Impact Of Vocabulary Knowledge On Comprehension?.823 Words   |  4 Pagesor concept to student is always difficult, however, their prior knowledge gives a base level of information to build upon. 3. What is the role of metacognition in teaching comprehension? Metacognition is the ability to think about one’s own thinking, and in the context of reading, to think while about the various aspects of the text, including author’s purpose and the meaning of the text. Students need to be able to grasp the concept being communicated by the author through the text so thatRead MorePfizer Case Study1484 Words   |  6 Pageslargest research-based pharmaceuticals firm and also a well known Pharmaceutical company. So their most of the work depends on research, developing Strategies and innovate. They were trying to find a new way of system which makes their Work more effective and efficient. Pfizer find out that their worker spends more time on Business research and data analysis to the creation of documents and other routine Support like Goggling and making power points and also spending so much time on Menial tasks

Bloodsucking Fiends A Love Story Chapter 35 Free Essays

Chapter 35 Sculptures Sunset cast a warm orange across the great Pyramid, while below, the Emperor enjoyed a cappuccino on a concrete bench and Bummer and Lazarus battled for the remains of a three-pound porterhouse. â€Å"Men, would that I could let you, like Cincinnatus, retire like gentlemen soldiers to the country, but the City is still in need. The fiend is vanquished, but not the despair of my people. We will write a custom essay sample on Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 35 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Our responsibility is legion.† A family of tourists passed the Emperor, hurrying to get to the cable-car stop at California Street before dark, and the Emperor tipped his cup in salute. The father, a balding fat man in an Alcatraz sweatshirt, took the Emperor’s gesture as a request for spare change and said, â€Å"Why don’t you get a job?† The Emperor smiled. â€Å"Good sir, I have a job. I am Emperor of San Francisco and Protector of Mexico.† The tourist scrunched his face in disgust. â€Å"Look at you. Look at your clothes. You stink. You need a bath. You’re nothing but a bum.† The Emperor looked down at the fraying cuffs of his dirty wool overcoat, his rib-worn gray corduroys, stained with splatters of vampire blood, the holes in his filthy sneakers. He raised an arm and took a sniff, then hung his head. The tourists walked away. Cavuto and Rivera sat in leather wingback chairs in front of the fireplace in Cavuto’s Cow Hollow apartment. The fireplace was burning, the fire crackling and dancing as it fought off the damp chill of the bay. The room was furnished with rugged oak antiques, the bookshelves filled with detective novels, the walls hung with guns and posters from Bogart movies. Rivera drank cognac; Cavuto, Scotch. On the coffee table between them stood a three-foot-high bronze statue of a ballerina. â€Å"So what do we do with it?† Cavuto asked. â€Å"It’s probably stolen.† â€Å"Maybe not,† Rivera said. â€Å"He might have bought it from Degas himself.† â€Å"The black kid says it’s worth millions. You think he’s right?† Rivera lit a cigarette. â€Å"If it’s authentic, yeah. So what do we do with it?† â€Å"I’ve only got a couple of years before I retire. I’ve always wanted to own a rare-book shop.† Rivera smiled at the thought. â€Å"The wife wants to see Europe. I wouldn’t mind having a little business of my own. Maybe learn to play golf.† â€Å"We could turn it in and just finish our time. They’re going to move us out of homicide after this, you know that? We’re too old for narcotics. Probably vice – night after night of screaming hookers.† Rivera sighed. â€Å"I’ll miss homicide.† â€Å"Yeah, it was quiet.† â€Å"I’ve always wanted to learn about rare books,† Rivera said. â€Å"No golf,† Cavuto said. â€Å"Golf is for pussies.† Tommy moved the futon so he could sit facing the two statues, then sat down to admire his handiwork. He’d worked all day in the foundry below, covering Jody and the vampire with the thin coat of conductive paint and putting them into the bronzing vats. The two biker sculptors had been more than happy to help, especialy when Tommy pulled a handful of cash out of the grocery bag that the Emperor had delivered. The statues looked very lifelike. They should, they were still alive under the bronze coating, except for Zelda, who stood next to the two vampires. Tommy had put Jody in a leotard before he applied the paint. He’d dressed the vampire in a pair of his own jockey shorts. It was amazing how fast the vampire had healed after drinking Jody’s blood. The worst part had been waiting – waiting outside the bedroom where Jody had carried the vampire, waiting for them to go out at sunrise, listening to the soft murmur of their voices. What had they been talking about? Overall, the vampire looked pretty good. Almost all the damage to his body had healed by morning. Jody, even bronzed, looked beautiful. The finishing touch had been to drill ear holes through the thick bronze coating so he could talk to her. â€Å"Jody, I know that you’re probably really, really mad. I don’t blame you. But I didn’t have a choice. It’s not forever, it’s just until I can figure out what to do. I didn’t want to lose you. I know you wanted to just go away and I think you would have, but he wouldn’t have. He would never have let me live.† Tommy waited, as if he would get some response from the statue. He picked up the grocery bag of money from the floor and held it up. â€Å"By the way, we’re rich! Cool, huh? I’ll never make fun of Lash for studying business again. In less than a day he fenced the art from the yacht and got us ten cents on the dollar. Our cut’s over a hundred thousand. The guys flew to Vegas. We tried to give a share to the Emperor, but he would only take enough to buy a meal for Bummer and Lazarus. He said that money would distract him from his responsibilities. Great, huh?† He dropped the money and sighed. â€Å"Those two cops believed you. They’re going to leave us alone. They reported that the killer was on board the yacht when it went up. Lash gave the gate guard some money to back up their story. I couldn’t believe they were going along with it. I think the big cop kind of likes me. â€Å"I’m going to write a book about this. I came here to find adventure and being with you sure has been that. And I don’t want to give it up. I know we’re not the same. And we shouldn’t feel lonely when we have each other. I love you. I’m going to figure I something out. I’ve got to sleep now. It’s been days.† He got up and went to Jody. â€Å"I’m sorry,† he said. He kissed the cold bronze lips and was turning to go into the bedroom when the phone rang. â€Å"It’s probably the Animals calling from some casino,† he said as he picked up the phone. â€Å"Hello.† â€Å"Uh, hi,† a man’s voice said. â€Å"Could I speak to Jody, please?† Tommy pulled the phone away and looked at it, then put it to his ear and said, â€Å"Jody’s†¦ well†¦ she’s deceased.† â€Å"I know. Can I speak to her?† â€Å"You sick fuck.† â€Å"Is this C. Thomas Flood? The guy from the paper?† Who was this guy? â€Å"Look, buddy, that was a mistake. They got the guy who did those murders.† â€Å"Look, my name is Steve. I can’t tell you my last name. Not until I’m sure it’s safe. I’m a med student at Berkeley. I spoke to Jody the other night. We were supposed to meet the other night at Enrico’s, but she never showed up. I’m kind of glad, I met a nice girl who works at the Safeway with you. Anyway, when I saw Jody’s name in the paper I took a chance and looked up the number.† â€Å"If you saw the paper, you know what happened to Jody,† Tommy said. â€Å"This isn’t very funny.† The line was silent for a moment, then Steve said, â€Å"Do you know what she is?† Tommy was shocked. â€Å"Do you?† â€Å"So you do know?† â€Å"She is, I mean was, my girlfriend.† â€Å"Look, I’m not trying to blackmail you or anything. I don’t want to turn you in. I talked to Jody about reversing her condition. Well, I think I’ve found a way to do it.† â€Å"You’re kidding.† â€Å"No. Tell her. I’ll call you back tomorrow night. I know she’s not up during the day.† â€Å"Wait,† Tommy said. â€Å"Are you serious about this? I mean, you can make her human again?† â€Å"I think so. It will probably take a few months. But I’ve been able to do it with cloned cells in the lab.† Tommy covered the mouthpiece and turned to the statue of Jody. â€Å"There’s a guy here that says he can help you. We can be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vapor was streaming out of the ear holes in the brass and swirling into a cloud in the middle of the room. Tommy dropped the phone and backed away from the cloud. He could hear Steve’s voice calling for him on the phone. Tommy backed against the counter in the kitchen. â€Å"Jody, is that you?† The cloud was pulsating, sending out tendrils, or were they limbs? It was as if it was condensing into a solid shape. Jody thought, Oh Tommy, you can’t believe what I learned last night. You’re going to have the adventure of your life, lover. And it’s going to be such a long life. The things you’ll see – I can’t wait to show them to you. She became solid, stood before him, naked, smiling. Tommy held the phone to his chest. â€Å"You’re pissed, aren’t you?† â€Å"I was never going to leave you, Tommy. I love you.† â€Å"But what about him?† Tommy pointed to the bronzed vampire. â€Å"I had to make him think that I was going to go with him so I could find out what I needed to know. I’ve learned a lot, Tommy. I’m going to teach you.† She started moving toward him. â€Å"He taught you the mist thing, huh?† â€Å"That, and how a vampire is made.† â€Å"No kidding. That could come in handy.† â€Å"And soon,† she said. She looked back at the old vampire. â€Å"The bronzing was a pretty good trick. I didn’t exactly know what I was going to do with him after I found out what I needed to know. Maybe later we can figure out a way to let him out and still be safe.† â€Å"So, you’re not mad? You’re really not leaving?† â€Å"No. I thought I would have to leave, but I never wanted to. You and I are going to be together for a very long time.† Tommy smiled. â€Å"Great, this guy on the phone says†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Hang up, Tommy. And come here.† â€Å"But he says†¦ he can change you back.† â€Å"Hang up.† She took the phone from him and set it down on the counter, then moved into his arms and kissed him. How to cite Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 35, Essay examples