Bad Research Methods/Habits

Bad note taking can lead to mistakes when you begin to write your paper. And learning to take good notes is an important academic skill for two reasons.

First, good notes will clearly label which ideas and facts you found in external sources. Make sure that when you're taking notes you mark your own original ideas in such a way that, when you look at your notes later, the difference is still clear. Second, good notes will let you know exactly where you found your information. By looking at your notes, you should be able to tell what came from which source. Writing citations down ahead of time can also save you time when you write your bibliography.23