More often than not, you find that the passed-over tidbit is critical to your paper, and then there's a good chance you won't find it again. Don't ever, ever pass over information because you're just not sure whether it will be useful! This is a very common and costly mistake in research.

If you think it might be useful, write it down.

Before you leave any source, double-check your notes for accuracy. If at any time you write down information word for word (to be used as a quote), be sure to include all punctuation marks, capitalizations, and breaks exactly as they appear in the source. For instance, you may want to pre-mark each card with spaces for each category, just to make sure you don't leave anything out.

Create your own system and stick to it.

For each note you will need to record author's name, the title of reference (book, article, interview, etc.), reference publication information, to include publisher, date, place, year, issue, volume, page number, and your own personal comments. This reduces the chances of committing accidental plagiarism. As you take notes, try to paraphrase all the information. From each source, write down any notes or quotes that could be useful in your paper. This is how you narrow your list down to include the most solid sources. As you read your potential sources, you will find that some are helpful, others are not, and some will repeat the same information you already have. You should continue to research until you have quite a few potential sources-about three times as many as your teacher recommends. Use the library and the Internet to find potential sources for your research paper. Don't try to fit two sources (quotes and notes) on one card.

Devote an entire note card to each idea or note.

Also, consider color coding your cards by topic to keep your paper organized from the start.

Large, lined cards are probably best, especially if you want to make your own detailed personal notes. Start with a fresh pack of research note cards.

Index cards