Take Note — Decomposing Articles for Research
With the internet comes information overload, so It’s worth having a mindful and paced system of consumption. I want to share with you the system I’ve been working on. I haven’t tested it rigorously, but I think the structure is useful, especially for those trying to understand what’s true rather than affirm what’s thought. The aim is to maintain the views of all parties in the interest of understanding, while allowing criticisms in either direction.
The process has three sections: Notions, Extractions, and Reflections. The Notions section values one’s current thoughts and opinions, the Extractions section values the content of the material, and the third section, Reflections, values reason and intellectual progress.
In detail, Notions comprise your current state: what do you know now or what comes to mind before reading. Extractions comprise fragments of the source material: what information is important? (consider that these extractions don’t have to be related to your notions, they’re just collections of salient information). Reflections comprise your thoughts on what you’ve read, and what knowledge gaps remain.
Below is a template I’ve made with Mathematica which you can download, or make a copy to edit in the Wolfram Cloud!