Noodle Tools
A digital platform used for organizing research.
taking notes for Research*
Many people recommend taking all your notes on notecards. In Capstone, it is strongly recommended that you use NoodleTools for this. The advantage of notecards is that you can rearrange them to structure the outline of your paper.
Think Critically as you Read
First, take notes only on information or quotes that are directly relevant to your research question or thesis (you may be able to skim over other parts). Using NoodleTools, make a separate notecard for each new topic you feel is important to include in your research.
Organize your Notes
- After you take notes, organize them.
- Put similar information together and re-group notecards by topic instead of by source. Select colors and cues in the dropdown menu under "Tags" to customize the cards.
- Review the topics of your newly-grouped notes. If the topics do not answer your research question or support your working thesis directly, you may need to do additional research or re-think your original research.
- During this process you may find that you have taken notes that do not answer your research question or support your working thesis directly. Don't be afraid to throw them away.
Working with your notes essentially means going back and reviewing how this "new" information fits with your own thoughts about the topic or issue of the research.
Outline your essay
Grouping your notes will enable you to outline the major sections and then the paragraphs of your research paper by connecting notecards to your outline inNoodleTools.
*Information adapted from SUNY EMPIRE State College