Lit Reviews: How do you organize all those materials?

[smugpug]

Hi guys, 

 

I'm starting my lit review for my thesis project for an Anthropology M.A. and I'm curious to know how you guys organize all of your articles. Is it better to have print copies of them, should I put them all on an iPad, or does keeping them all in a file on your desktop work best?  Do you take notes as you go? I'd just like to get a better feel for what other people go through as they work on lit reviews and retaining/organizing all those ideas and information. 

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

[PhDreams]

All of the above, I guess. LOL

 

For some reason I can't really get into material that I read on a screen. I love Mother Earth, but I need to print and highlight. I also keep the files in a folder on my desktop and the citations in a separate folder in EndNote as I go. I also keep some articles on my phone to read on the go. I think everyone has a different method and you'll eventually find yours. Mine is not practical.. as in it sucks to carry around thirty 20-page articles in your bag, but I really cant get into the whole annotating on your computer thing. Good luck!!!!

[biotechie]

I use this
http://www.mendeley.com

It is amazing. It allows you to organize all of your papers, store 2 GB online (to access anywhere), and it will also help your do your citations and inline citations in a document. You can take notes, highlight, add summaries, etc. Everything is within this one program so you don't have to have a bagillion things open everywhere. You can also use it for group projects and share sources.

This is like a free and better Endnote. I can't believe I lived without it before!!!

Edited January 6, 2013 by biotechie

[booksnlooks]

I keep it all organized on my computer. I also like to take notes as I go, using direct quotes as often as possible (and noting the page number) and adding context as need be. It really helps when you move from the reading stage to the writing stage because I rarely have to sift back through a paper I've already read.

[treebark]

I use this

http://www.mendeley.com

It is amazing. It allows you to organize all of your papers, store 2 GB online (to access anywhere), and it will also help your do your citations and inline citations in a document. You can take notes, highlight, add summaries, etc. Everything is within this one program so you don't have to have a bagillion things open everywhere. You can also use it for group projects and share sources.

This is like a free and better Endnote. I can't believe I lived without it before!!!

I second this. I've been using Mendeley for a few years now and it really prevents a lot of unnecessary frustration.

[Nausicaa]

I use this

http://www.mendeley.com

It is amazing. It allows you to organize all of your papers, store 2 GB online (to access anywhere), and it will also help your do your citations and inline citations in a document. You can take notes, highlight, add summaries, etc. Everything is within this one program so you don't have to have a bagillion things open everywhere. You can also use it for group projects and share sources.

This is like a free and better Endnote. I can't believe I lived without it before!!!

Mendeley is awesome. I was searching for a long time for an organizing software because I get distracted when things are cluttered, and it's so useful.

[SixandCounting]

I have used Zotero to organize all my work for my comprehensive exam lists. It makes capturing and using citations so simple and fast. There is an area for writing notes, and you can attach pdfs and other documents to the citations. I love it and highly recommend it. 

[rising_star]

What's best really depends on you. I use a hybrid of things I already mentioned. I print out some articles and highlight, I take notes in a separate notebook sometimes, sometimes I read on the computer and put the notes in Zotero. I kinda wish I were more organized because using these various things will complicate writing the dissertation, I'm sure. But, it is what it is. The articles that are foundational for my work I have printed out, highlighted, and I have saved notes on the computer on them because they're that important. The rest is sort of a jumble...

[Dal PhDer]

I love Mendeley...it's literally SAVED my life. I also keep a database in excel (much like an annotated bib) of everything I read...it's really great! REALLY! It might take a bit more effort to start, but once you do it, you really realize how much information you can gleam from an article. I also take notes in a .doc about the theoretical concepts, questions that it spurs, or links to my research. I have found doing both these things really makes it easy when you come time to write. I've often used the excel document to make revised/shortened tables.

[new_to_kin]

I use Papers2 and create a folder for my review. It's a ref manager ++++. It also handles your pdfs and you can email the citations or the pdf easily from within the program (great if you have a second reviewer). You can highlight etc from within the program. It's amazing.

Edited January 21, 2013 by new_to_kin

[OhMySocks]

I love Mendeley...it's literally SAVED my life. I also keep a database in excel (much like an annotated bib) of everything I read...it's really great! REALLY! It might take a bit more effort to start, but once you do it, you really realize how much information you can gleam from an article. I also take notes in a .doc about the theoretical concepts, questions that it spurs, or links to my research. I have found doing both these things really makes it easy when you come time to write. I've often used the excel document to make revised/shortened tables.

 

Would you mind elaborating a bit more on your organization system using Excel, including specifics on what is included?

[Dal PhDer]

I keep track of the following:

 

Authors

Year

Journal

Purpose/Hypothesis/Research Question

Presence of a theoretical/conceptual guiding framework

Independent/Treatment variables(s) (with an additional column on definition)

Dependent variables(s) (with an additional column on definition)

Sample (size, M/F ratio, age, how they were selected, and health risk factors)

Design (type of design - with additional columns on dosage/length of exposure, etc)

Confounding variables

Analysis

Results (with specific)

Overall conclusion

Limitations

Mention of application? (Another column with detail)

*I will also have columns that will have a "*" or "?" to simply state if the concept is present or not, and then another column with more specific detail.

 

This is just general...I've tailored a lot of the information to my field...so if I'm comparing a definition of a specific concept in the literature, I will have a column with a detailed explanation of the definition, and then another column where I begin to synthesize the results.

 

Another great thing to do is just search around for literature reviews in your field to see what they tend to collect. I over collect - mostly because my area is new, and there's limited research and I want to clearly look at the gaps. My motto is over collect, because it's easier to cut information rather than go back through everything.

[MPH(D?)]

I use Dropbox (highlighting and notes on the iPad with access on all other things) to store and an endnote/word combo for referencing. Had to do a couple of lit review for manuscripts, so I developed a table that has saved my life a bunch of times.

[new_to_kin]

I also use papers2 and create a folder for the review. I then use a spreadsheet to keep other notes (for a scoping review, for example). You can highlight and make notes within papers 2

[Eigen]

I use Dropbox (highlighting and notes on the iPad with access on all other things) to store and an endnote/word combo for referencing. Had to do a couple of lit review for manuscripts, so I developed a table that has saved my life a bunch of times.

 

This is exactly what I do. And it works between Mac and PC, which I need, since I swap back and forth.

 

I found using the Endnote reference IDs as the start of the file name helped me keep them in chronological order based on when I added them too, which is how I am most likely to find them. And the newest ones to read and annotate are always at the top.

[selecttext]

I print out all of my articles and make notes on them

[juilletmercredi]

I use Zotero as my reference management software, because of its easy integration with web browsers and it's citation and reference list capabilities.  I organize my Zotero collections by paper and topic.  So if I use an article in a my 19th century basketweaving paper, it goes into the 19th century basketweaving subcollection; this makes it easier for me to create a reference list for that paper when I'm ready.  (Zotero has this awesome drag-and-drop capability in addition to traditional integration with Word, so if you select an entire list of references and drag it to any word processor, it will give you a formatted, alphabetized reference list in your major style of choice.)

 

I tried to use Mendeley, but it kept crashing on my computer.  I'm using a relatively new Mac (2011), so I'm not really sure what the deal was.

 

I do not print copies of my articles; not only do I not have that much print quota or physical space in my apartment, I simply don't want to kill that many trees, lol.  I upload PDF files of each document to my Google Drive, which I then sync with two apps on my iPad - Notability and GoodReader.  I prefer GoodReader, honestly; it was a well-spent $10.  GoodReader gives me the ability to highlight and add annotations, which I do with a stylus typically.  (Notability was recommended to me by an art historian; it doesn't work as well for me, but I think she likes it because you're allowed to do more free-form notetaking from your finger or stylus and she does a lot of scribbled/handwritten notes.  She is actually handwriting her MA thesis, bless her magical heart.)  My iPad, I find, is the perfect size for reading articles and to me it's just like reading on printed paper, except much much much more convenient.  My entire lit review is on my iPad and I don't have to haul around binders or go searching for That One Paper.