Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with notetaking

How can I keep track of academic papers and my handwritten notes on them?

col_pogo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:28:29 -0800

What is the best hardware/software system for keeping track of a) hundreds of academic papers in PDF form and b) my handwritten notes on these hundreds of papers? Bonus if the answer integrates with some sort of citation management software. I am in a PhD program that requires me to read and take notes on a large number of papers. I can see myself in four years time simply drowning in printouts. My problem is somewhat similar to this previous question.

I don't like reading while sitting in front of my computer (typing hurts and easy internet access kills my productivity), so I tend to print out PDFs and take notes all over them while reading in cafes, libraries, on planes, etc. (Zotero's note system, for instance, isn't great for me because I don't like reading in my browser and typing notes). An ideal system would allow to me read much as I do, but make my notes--and interesting quotes and passages from what I'm reading--searchable for when I'm writing papers, studying for orals, etc.

The problem at that moment is that I end up with all these papers and notes that aren't easy to archive and can't be searched. I fear I don't have the discipline to properly archive all my actual paper notes, and hope that there's a technological fix out there for me.

I'd like advice on whether my best option is
a) a Tablet PC (with what software?)--one potential problem with this would be bulk and the distracting internet access.
b) an eBook reader that supports annotation (the upcoming IREX one?) with some sort of arching software to upload to.
c) One of those smart pens that records what you write (Previously). If these really work and can be integrated with good archiving/searching software I can see this being helpful for interviews and class notes, too.
d) Scanning notes taken on paper into my computer and archiving them from there. Something that sounds onerous and that I probably wouldn't actually do.
e) some brilliant technological solution that hasn't occurred to me.
f) knuckling down and getting a disciplined paper archiving system.

Could these options--a) in particular--be combined with Atlas TI? I love that QDA programs let me jump to specific tagged passages--and apparently the latest version has good support for PDFs. Or will OneNote--or some Mac program I haven't heard of--do this kind of thing better?

I have fairly atrocious handwriting, so OCR doesn't seem to work that well (in Evernote, for instance). I was impressed by Vista's handwriting support the one time I tried it, however--and I gather it learns from its mistakes.

I've heard Apple has a similar option, and would be willing to switch to using Macs if their handwriting recognition or the various note-taking programs I've heard about (Devonthink, Scrivener, Papers, others?) can be combined with some sort of note-capturing system.

I also take notes in lots of books. Any good ideas for capturing these notes that might fit with one of the above options?

I need a secure alternative to Evernote

DerekTheGeek — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:05:13 -0800

Any suggestions on a secure alternative to Evernote? I really like Evernote. I really do. However, I need something that secures my content with encryption. Evernote does a great job of archiving all my notes, pictures, and ideas however the data is all located on their servers in an unencrypted format. Is there any other provider or software that accomplishes the same thing as Evernote yet provides encryption for users data?

Things I am looking for:
1. iPhone/PDA companion app to allow capture and viewing of content away from desktop PC
2. Web component to allow viewing or capture of data
3. Encryption

People familiar with Evernote may be thinking .. "Evernote has all this but encryption .. just wait". This is true but as I am unsure when Evernote is going to support the encryption of user content and I would like to find an alternative in the meantime.

I know there are a few Mac based tools out there (Yojimbo, Together, Journler, etc ..) but I am looking for something on the PC. I love MS OneNote but it does not have a PDA or web component. Any suggestions on what others use? Thank you.

Netbook for a grad student.

The White Hat — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:45:43 -0800

Netbook for a grad/med student: what should I get? (Long list of desired features inside) So I'm starting into an MS in public health research and will hopefully be entering med school at some point in the near future, and I'm looking for something portable to do the following:
- take lecture notes that may include diagrams
- annotate power point slides
- Read, manage, and annotate PDF files, preferably with zotero, preferably in a way that can have a shared library with my main computer running XP.
- Run small-scale statistical analyses in SPSS/Excel or programs that will open/manipulate those files.
- General browsing, word processing, e-mail, &c.

From that list of things I'd like to do, I've come up with the following features I'd like my netbook to have:
- Touch screen, preferably one that folds back to make a tablet
- Complete keyboard
- At least 1 gig of RAM
- Very long battery life (>6hrs)
- Windows (or at least the ability to use/manipulate Office files & SPSS databases
- fast booting time
- WiFi, USB ports, sturdy construction &c.

Do netbooks exist with this set of features? Where can I find them? Will I need to sell a kidney?

Note to myself: Use better notes

ddaavviidd — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:00:05 -0800

I'm doing my comp. exam (also called doctoral exam here) this summer. This involves reading a whole bunch of books and articles (about 30), and writing a long paper that answers a few questions from my committee. I am looking for good note-taking methods. I've made it to the PhD with not much of a technique. Sometimes I write in the margins, sometimes I hand-take notes on a separate sheet for each text, and sometimes I just read, no notes. I'd like to have a better system this time to be able to do the readings and then be able to use principally my notes for the writing. What is your preferred method?

I'm okay using a computer for note-taking (os x), but not online tools, as I'll often be in dead zones. I have Zotero, but I'm not sure I'm using it to its full capacity.

(also, not to derail, but any tricks for the reading-writing of the exam would be appreciated-this is in communication studies)

Looking for the perfect note-taking system is hard, but still easier than actually doing work

pluckemin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:42:55 -0800

Which note-taking/organizing software does the best job of integrating PDF files? I'm looking ahead at 4+ years of doing nothing but research and writing, and I'm realizing that my current notetaking system (read document, forget about it a week later) is not exactly working for me. I'd like to switch to one of those magical programs that organizes your world, but after reading all of the many previous AskMe questions on note-taking systems, I can't figure out which one would work best for me. (Currently looking at: Evernote, TiddlyWiki, WikidPad, Scrivener, NoteBook, VooDooPad.)

I've made a half-hearted attempt to use Zotero in the past, and there are a bunch of things about it that I really like (most notably the ability to save and annotate webpages, which is particularly important to me because part of what I study is Internet culture), but there are also a few things about it that I don't like (not free-standing, impossible to look at multiple things at once).

There's one thing that I would really like to be able to do. Many of my readings are PDFs, and many of those aren't recognized as text (or whatever the technical term is -- I mean that you can't highlight text or search). I would like to be able to annotate these readings directly on the PDF, but also be able to view my notes separately, i.e. as a list. I want to be able to see my notes in context, but also to be able to take a step back and look at the big picture of all of my notes for a single reading and possibly all the notes for a collection of readings.

Does any program actually do this? If not, which of these programs do you think would work best for a social theory academic with lots of PDFs, an extremely bad memory, and a tendency to fail to see the big picture? I'm leaning towards one of the Wikis because the of the ability to interconnect everything, but I'm not sure if they can integrate attached files as well as the non-Wiki programs can. Maybe I need to use two separate programs (e.g. Zotero to manage bibliographic info and websites, VooDooPad to take and organize notes), though being able to kill all my organizational birds with one stone sure would be nice.

Sugestions for a lightweight and open source notetaking and outlining editor

sk381 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:53:49 -0800

Looking for alternatives to Keynote, a hierarchical note taking and outlining editor for Windows that is no longer under development. I'm looking for something that:

- is equally lightweight and can be run from a USB flash drive
- is ideally open source
- handles data in a manner similar to Keynote, i.e. allowing multiple notes to be open at the same time as tabs.
- ability to open more than one database at a time would be a bonus.

Thanks!

Help Me Capture Text From Books!

Gerard Sorme — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:43:36 -0800

What kind of options do I have for a gadget of some kind that can capture bits of text from a book or magazine? I read a lot and always take notes, highlight, underline, note page numbers to refer back to, all these things to use for reference later on. But actually copying paragraphs into a notebook takes time, highlighting and underlining doesn't really help as I have to go back to the book - but rarely do. Since I keep so much information on my computer, I have wondered if there are small devices (mini-scanners?) that can somehow capture a few lines of text and store it as a .jpg or something. It seems as if I have seen or heard of these but I really don't know what to look for. By the way, I have used Jott to read a paragraph and have it in my email as transcribed text. That's nice, but I don't want to make a phone call every time I want to capture some text. As always, thanks in advance!

Anything better than a tablet for math notes?

woolylambkin — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:20:34 -0800

I'm thinking of replacing my old Compaq tc1000 tablet with either a new tablet or a regular notebook. Whatever I replace it with though has to take engineering/math notes well. So what are your suggestions for my tablet replacement? I absolutely love my tc1000 but at 5 years old it's starting to get slow, beat up, and the battery life has slowly dropped from 3 hours down to 1 hour which makes carrying it to class a gamble even with an extra battery. After using it for class for 5 years I can't see myself comfortably going back to pen and paper for note taking not to mention the lack of Hexic deluxe during my geotechnical classes.

I'm looking to replace it with either a tablet (more than likely a HP tx2000z or HP 2710p) or a laptop (PC or Mac doesn't matter). I'll only be using it for note taking and internet surfing so optical drives, hdd space, and pure performance aren't important but battery life and portability are key. I'd prefer something that's smaller than 15" and 5lbs with exchangeable batteries being a nice extra. Also it must have an active digitizer as I find touch screens make me want to stab the stylus through the screen after using them for a minute or two. I'd also prefer a keyboard instead a slate only tablet due to the convenience of internet surfing and non-math note taking with a keyboard.

If you suggest a laptop over a tablet I'd want suggestions on why it'd be better than a tablet for taking notes in engineering and math related courses. Right now I'm using Microsoft OneNote which I absolutely love with a stylus but don't see how I can take effective math notes with OneNote using a keyboard. I realize Word has an equation editor that looks really nice for reports but I find it extremely cumbersome to even attempt using it to take math notes on. I've never used a Mac but would still consider one if there are Mac programs that make equation typing super easy.

Also as far as my notes go I need easy access to integral signs, greek letters, sub and super scripts, division lines, and simple drawings (lines and curves).

With all of that in mind what's your suggestion for my next computing solution?

WYSIWYM for Notes

tmcw — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:53:47 -0800

I'm interested in designing a notetaking markup system for writing & the web. Before I put much more effort into it, does it exist? I have an idea for something that goes in a different direction than most markup - instead of style, it essentially denotes substance. Something like

A Season in Purgatory <>wonderfully accessible worlds of LaTeX and formal semantics.

Any ideas? Remarks? Suggestions? Does this already exist, and I'm just not noticing it?

Thanks

Words and pictures, together at last

doift — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:55:05 -0800

Taking text notes with incorporated image thumbnails: there's gotta be an application that does exactly what I need. I'm writing a thesis that involves watching a lot of TV shows on DVD and taking notes on it. My current note-taking system has utterly failed me. I'm in the midst of a note-taking epiphany, but I'm having trouble finding the software solution that I know is out there somewhere. Here's what I would like to be doing:

-Watching DVD on laptop
-Taking text notes on said DVD
-Occasionally taking a screen capture of the DVD, saving a nice-sized jpg of it somewhere, and incorporating a thumbnail of it into the text notes.
-Keeping the resulting notes document/file relatively small, manageable, and easily scrolled through
-Moving the whole process along as quickly as possible
(These last two were where just inserting images into a Word document really failed)

What software application will help me streamline this process and make a painful, painful writing process slightly sunnier?

What I'm working with: Macbook, 10.4, Firefox

I'm looking for a good way to take notes at work.

BigBrownBear — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:59:52 -0800

I'm looking for a good way to take notes at work. I've been reading lots of good notetaking posts here, but they are mainly aimed at students. My situation is a little different because I'm not keeping track of lectures and readings, but meetings and projects.

Maybe someone has suggestions for me....

Here are some criteria:

1) Paper only cause I travel a lot.

2) I sit in a lot of meetings.

3) I would like to be able to flip back through the book and find things (eg, names, projects, etc.)

I try to use the Cornell method but it doesnt seem to work for me. Maybe I'm too sloppy.

Anal? Me?

showbiz_liz — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 08:58:17 -0800

Where can I get a five-subject spiral bound graph paper notebook? I prefer to take my class notes on graph paper, but it seems that you can only get graph paper in pads. If I could find a place that sold a big spiral-bound notebook of graph paper, I'd probably pay ridiculous amounts of money for it, but I'm not even sure if they exist. Do they?

How can I print my notes onto 3x5 cards?

synecdoche — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:49:15 -0800

Is there any way to print onto 3x5 recipe/note cards? I have been taking a lot of notes on my computer for school. I'd like to take some of these and print them onto 3x5 recipe cards, for organizing when I write papers and such. I've tried doing this in Word, but it doesn't seem to work-- it is as though Word is expecting a larger piece of paper to go through the printer. The card slides through, it prints onto nothing, and then the next one comes through, and it prints onto nothing. I have adjusted the paper size but to no avail. I'm willing to go with a standalone program on this one, though if so, the cheaper (or free-er) the better.

I'm working on a Macbook, with an Epson R200 printer.

(By the way, I know there are programs that can arrange notes onto cards on the screen [Scrivener] but I want physical copies of these things.)

Mutant hybrid office supplies

doift — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 22:22:37 -0800

Flat pencil or pen that can be used as a bookmark- does such a thing exist successfully? Recently, I was reading a book in which I needed to underline things, and I took it on some errands on the subway with me. I was using a regular mechanical pencil as a bookmark so I could underline as needed. However, the book wouldn't close properly, and the pencil kept sliding out of the book when it was in my bag, and it was annoying. Also, like many people, I sometimes like to carry a notebook and pen or pencil around with me, and have similar troubles then. It occurred to me that a flat or nearly flat writing instrument that could double as a bookmark would be an extremely useful thing. Google search produced these "flat sketching pencils", which still seem too thick. This comment in a previous thread led to these pens, which seem kind of cheap and poor quality, and also maybe too thick.

My question, then, is: Does a really good implementation of this idea already exist? Or are the above-linked examples the best we have for now? Has anyone encountered any interesting bookmark/pencil hybrids in the wild?

Note your average notes program... (Owch.)

synecdoche — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 07:28:14 -0800

I'm trying to find a note-taking program for OSX that allows a pseudo-Cornell-style of note taking, and some other features. I've looked at a number of programs based on recommendations on the green and elsewhere, and nothing seems to do what I want (at least so far as I can tell).

What I want is a note-taking program that will allow me to create notebooks that feature:

1. A main note-taking area
2. Some way of incorporating printable marginalia (either by having it next to the main text, or as an annotation sort of like Word's "Comments")
3. The ability to tag and search notebooks
4. The ability to group notebooks together under folders that are visible in the main program

I realize these are fairly specific demands, but I am hoping to find something at least CLOSE to this. The ability to add (printable) marginalia is essential; tagging would be nice; and grouping is not absolutely necessary but I would like some sort of means by which I can group like notebooks together (maybe under tabs? As long as I can see it in the program.)

Maybe this is a tall order, but I figured if anyone can find it, it is AskMe.

How do I taked notes?

SansPoint — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 08:03:35 -0800

I don't know how to take notes. No. really. I'm a third year English major, and I've never really learned how to take notes in class. In my high school years, I was able to pick everything up with loosely paying attention in class, reading the text, and not writing a thing down. As my educational career advances, though, I'm beginning to see my inability to take notes is going to hurt me, particularly if I go on to Grad School.

When I do take notes, or try, I can't help but feel I'm missing something. I write what's on the board, if there is something, or key phrases quoted in a lecture, but it's usually very disorganized. Also, it's hard for me to focus on note taking. I've tried writing notes by hand, though my terrible handwriting makes this a chore, and writing on a laptop which is annoyingly distracting^[1].

Not every class requires the same degree of note taking, too. My Philosophy class is a lecture course where I have to take notes, but some of my upper-level English courses are discussion where note taking is de-emphasized (though I should take notes as I read the books.)

So, in short, if someone could point me to a "Note Taking for Remedials" book, or explain the basic ideas to me. I've looked at note taking systems like the Cornell Method which strikes me as absurdly complex. I'm not a good spacial/visual thinker, mind-mapping doesn't work well for me at all (tried it.)

What works for you? How should I take notes? Do I dump the laptop? Record my lectures? I'm sort of lost here.

^1.I use an iBook G4, and try to type notes in WriteRoom to minimize distraction. It doesn't work well as I can still alt-tab out, run a web browser, etc.

Notetaking software suggestions please

NorthCoastCafe — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:28:35 -0800

'm looking for a easy-to-use software package that will allow me to 1) take notes during phone conversation, 2) copy & paste from email, website, word processing document into it, (I use and favor Open Office Writer, although I own MS Word and Wordperfect), allow to copy and paste the other way too. It should live in my system tray to allow fast access but not hog a lot of RAM. Any body here have anything like that? Oh, and I prefer it be free MS OneNote looks great, but too pricey for me right now.

As if high school isn't awkward enough already...

ruby.aftermath — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 18:35:09 -0800

Can someone explain French lycée-level notetaking to me? Is there some kind of secret system? My roomate and I spent some time studying in France while in high school (a semester or less). We both remember being completely amazed when come note-taking time, all our classmates suddenly whipped out something like 15 different colors of erasable fountain pens, rulers, and who knows what else. There were underlines and double underlines, and some kind of color coding. We both tried to fake it, but were entirely lost.

Is there some kind of special system, or are French kids supposed to make up their own fancy note style? I've been unable to find anything on Google, and while I am certainly a nerd, it's just not a topic that ever came up with French friends. None of which, unfortunately, I'm in touch with anymore.

Note Taking With A Tablet: Brilliant or Bonehead?

plaidrabbit — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 11:11:30 -0800

DorkyStudentFilter: Looking to see if anyone else has used a tablet to assist in taking notes in class, and other ideas for note taking. I did some research, and I'm wondering if anyone else has used a Wacom (or other brand, I'm not brand loyal) tablet to assist with note taking. The last two years of my undergrad, I took notes on a laptop and loved it. The only downside was diagrams - and those were almost impossible to do with plain text.

I'm attending law school this fall and have my heart set on getting the highest grades I've ever gotten at any learning institution.

If you have any recommendations on software in regards to what has worked for you as a note taker in law school, please, let me know as well. Oh, BTW - I'm a Mac guy. Thanks!

Yellow legal paper vs white legal paper

dbooster — Sat, 13 May 2006 03:58:56 -0800

Is there any benefit to using the yellow legal-pads instead of the white legal-pads. I used to buy the yellow for note taking simply because they were cheaper, but now I am finding I perfer the white. I am simply curious if the yellow paper has any benecit such as being better for the eyes or something, or if it is entirely just personal preference.

How can I concentrate without taking notes?

grouse — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:44:53 -0800

I used to concentrate during lectures, seminars, and meetings by taking copious notes on what was said. While this worked well, I now have a wrist injury that makes doing so undesirable. What are some good ways to keep concentrating?

SWF Seeks PDA

youcancallmeal — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 07:10:26 -0800

Seeking PDA or similar for reading and note-taking. I'd like to have something (much) smaller than my 12" iBook for reading pdfs and .doc files for class that (and this is the vital part) will allow me to highlight and take notes on the document as I read. I'd also like wifi/email/IM capability. If it would sync up with iCal, that would be extra super icing on the cake. Price? Cheap as possible, but I'm more interested in seeing what's out there.

(Yes, I've been through all the various askmefi PDA threads, but they don't seem to answer this particular set of needs.)

Note taking software with tags?

apetpsychic — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 11:28:45 -0800

I am looking for a note taking software with the ability to tag documents...for mac... I have tons and tons of fragments (snippets of dialogue, ideas for scripts, blog ideas, art ideas, etc) that I want to organize. Ideally I would keep them all in a sort of "pool" that I can recall as needed. I could tag a piece of dialogue like:

"Someday computers will replace fossil fuels." as: future predictions stoner roomate dialogue computers, etc

If I have all of my notes tagged, then I can just recall them as needed when working on larger projects...

Is there any note taking software forr mac that does this kind of thing well? I could even use something like del.icio.us except for the fact that it truncates the note aking section...

How do I take notes on big books?

josh — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 07:10:49 -0800

Researchers, academics, and readers: how do you deal with taking notes, recording passages, keeping a common-place book, and reading long books? What is your note-taking workflow? I'm a graduate student in English just beginning to get seriously into the research phase of my dissertation. I try to read a novel a day, and a lot of criticism and other non-fiction as well, in fields like neuroscience, psychology, and theology that relate to my thesis topic.

I have a pretty good memory, but nevertheless I find that I'm reading things and just not remembering them. In particular, I come across passages all the time that I'd like to save, and which I know that I won't remember later. And, of course, once I've written these things down they are just that -- written down in my notebook. In the past I've experimented with various solutions: carrying a Palm and portable keyboard; taking notes on index cards and sticking them in an alphabetical file; marking passages with post-its, and then transcribing them into something like DevonThink; or even just carrying my computer around and typing them in directly. But all of those options have been too much of a pain, with constant stopping and starting and/or equipment to lug around. I have a GTD-type workflow in other areas, but just can't motivate myself to sit down and retype paragraph after paragraph once a day or once a week. I much prefer just carrying my notebook with me.

So, all that said -- here are my questions:

1. Is it even useful to horde text like this? Am I better off just trusting to memory? Has anyone found it incredibly useful to have a 'memex' like this during the writing process, or found it useless?

2. If you think it's useful - then what do you do? What's your process for keeping track of what you read?

What I'd really like is a minimally intrusive way that I can keep track of what I read and see important passages, and which strikes a balance between being comprehensive, powerful, and lightweight. That could mean something computerized, something analog. But I'm also unsure that it's even worth it to be thinking about this stuff. Maybe I should just be reading?

Many thanks MeFites!

Looking for the eensiest, beansiest audio note-taker ever...

fuzzbean — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 07:13:22 -0800

Looking for a *tiny* audio recorder to take notes throughout the day, then upload to a computer (Linux) to prioritize, annotate, and transcribe as appropriate. What's the best, cheapest, smallest option? Anyone have any experience with using the MobiBlue cube as a voice recorder? The specific requirements:

Small, light, cheap. Doesn't have to have lots of memory or super long run time (as long as it can be on standby for 24+ hours w/out problem).
Decent quality voice recording with built-in mic. Doesn't have to be stellar, but has to be good enough not to interfere with clear transcription.
Easy UI for recording: press a button to start recording a new file, press a button to pause/unpause, press a button stop. Pause is an optional feature I can live without if the rest is good. BUT, what's important here is that it can be ready to record at a single button press all day without burning up the batteries, and when you're done recording one note, you're still in recording mode -- i.e., it's no good if you have to navigate to the recording menu from scratch each time.
Standard USB drive interface with standard file formats (wav, mp3, or ogg); specifically: will work with Linux.
Ideally, it would include rechargeable batteries and a charger. USB charging is fine. (If it requires one to buy rechargeables and a charger, should still be competitive on cost after all that.)
mp3/ogg playback is a nice bonus but of secondary concern.

The MobiBlu cube looks close to perfect, except I have heard the microphone quality is really bad, and I am unsure of the UI (i.e., because it is primarily a player with a voice record feature on the side, I don't know if it can *practically* be used as a throughout-the-day voice recorder). The various products designed specifically to be voice recorders are large, heavy, and expensive, and often use proprietary audio
file formats and PC-specific interface software.

So, Metafiltarians, what's my best bet?