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I have about 5000 pages of research notes. I have found that the quality and usefulness of the material varies greatly. Much of the older material is of little
by GianFabien 2y ago
I have about 5000 pages of research notes. I have found that the quality and usefulness of the material varies greatly. Much of the older material is of little relevance with the passing of time. As futile it may seem, I'm finding that re-reading and summarizing rather than straight transcribing is effective. I'm refreshing my memory of what I did discover and only typing up what is relevant now. Fortunately I'm a fast touch typist, so I can stare at the handwritten page and type; only glancing at the screen after a paragraph or two. Two things I find useful to retain are the dates of the original materials and bibliographic references.
- kqr 2y agoThis is important, I think. Allen Ward expands on the topic of "reusable knowledge" standing in contrast to putting notes in a binder and sticking the binder in a cabinet somewhere and then pretending you have stored knowledge. For knowledge to be reusable, it needs to be actively maintained, curated, summarised, integrated. It takes work so one shouldn't bother at all if one doesn't expect to want to refer to it later.
- bckr 2y agoI think this is the best approach for project-related information. It’s essentially the Second Brain approach. I’m interested in these journals for autobiographical / psychiatric reasons. Therefore, indeed, the more recent information is more valuable, but not with such a steep drop-off. The oldest 10% might contain 5% of the value.