Getting Started II
Get Organized...
- ...whatever that means to you. You need to have a system that will allow you to find your information when you need it. This can be especially important if you are given to the last-minute method of producing a research project. You don't want to waste your time wading through unorganized information, and you may be amazed at how much stuff you have amassed by the end of the project.
- Take the little bit of time as you go along to put your research in some sense of order. Use pocket folders, or binders with separators, or accordion style folders to separate your work into categories, and make sure that you add your materials to the appropriate section as you produce or find them. Do whatever works for you so that you can find your information when you require it.
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Keep this in mind in reference to your digital work as well. Make an organized folder with your project work in it and save it to a floppy or cd, or jump drive (a small, portable USB storage device) occasionally, so that if something crashes, you don't lose everything. This should be done whether it is on your own computer, or on one of the campus servers. You should always have a back up of your most recent work. Just in case. Seriously. -
Research is not restricted to the library. You may also require a waterproof field notebook, if your research takes you out into the wet. Expensive, but worth it. They sell these in the campus bookstore.
- If you interview anyone during the course of your research, or your research uses humans as subjects, you will require a Human Subjects Review Application, from Academic Advising, prior to the event.