Appendix D: Understanding and Documenting Information

Understanding and Documenting Information

Remember, our own ethos relies, in part, on the quality of the secondary research sources we use. That is, the sources we use can either add or detract from our overall credibility.  Therefore, reviewing, processing, and documenting information is an integral part of the research process.  Below, we discuss a variety of strategies for effectively understanding and documenting sources.

Skimming

Skimming is the process of reading key parts of a text in order to get an overview of an author’s argument and main ideas. There are many different methods for skimming, so you will have to determine which works best for you and your particular source.

Well-written texts such as essays, articles, and book chapters are generally formatted in similar ways:

Introduction: provides the main idea/thesis as well as overview of the text’s structure
Body: provides claims, arguments, evidence, support and so on to support thesis
Conclusion: provides connections to larger contexts, suggests implications, ask questions, and revisit the main ideas

Ideally, the main ideas will be presented in the introduction, elaborated on in detail in the body, and reviewed in the conclusion.  Further, many sources will contain headings or subheadings to organize points and examples, and well-written paragraphs generally have clear topic sentences, or sentences that provide the main idea(s) discussed in the paragraph. All of these aspects will help you skim while developing a sense of the argument and main ideas.

When you skim a source, consider the following process:

1. Read the introduction (this could be a few paragraphs long).
2. Scan the document for headings. In a shorter article, there may not be any headings or there may be only a couple.
3. Whenever you see a new heading, be sure to read at least the first few sentences under the heading and the final few sentences of the section.
4. Read the conclusion.

Taking Notes

Taking notes is a central component of the research process. While you skim the articles, record important information, beginning with publication information. Publication information provides a sense of the rhetorical situation for the source, such as intended audience and context. As you encounter texts in your research, consider their role in your project and take note of the publication information as noted.  Recording the publication information as you go will help avoid problems or mistakes when citing and building the reference list.

• Thesis statement
• Keywords
• Major points or claims
• Evidence, support and/or examples
• Headings (depending on the source)

You may want to write down the thesis, points, and claims exactly as they appear in the source. However, whenever you copy the language exactly, be sure to use quotation marks to indicate that the information is coming directly from a source/author.

Restating the Information in Your Own Words

After taking the time to skim and take notes, you should also put the author’s thesis and ideas into your own words. Doing so ensures that you truly understand the source and the author’s points. There are two major ways to approach this process: summary and paraphrase. We will touch on both of these more when we talk about producing the report, but in this instance, please know that you are using both methods for your own knowledge, not necessarily for content in your report. 

Summary

Summaries are condensed versions of the original source, in your own words. Summaries focus on the main ideas, but do not copy any of the original language. A 500 page book or a 2 hour movie could be summarized in a sentence. Summaries do not contain the same level of detail as the original source.

Paraphrase

Similarly, paraphrases are restatements of source material, in your own words, but the difference is that paraphrases tend to be closer in length to the original source. Paraphrases have the same level of detail as the original. Remember, though, if you copy from the original even two or three words in a row you must provide quotation marks around those words.

Regardless of whether you choose to directly quote, summarize, or paraphrase a source, you must document the source material.  Failure to do so is plagiarism and can lead to allegations of academic or workplace dishonesty.