MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Research-Heavy Writing

skb · 10-01-2017, 06:42 PM

@Hitch, I couldn't agree more about people not understanding (or using properly) Word's features. Years ago, I was using it (with carefully prepared templates) successfully to desktop publish beautiful stuff that had previously been done (badly and taking an eon in time) in Ventura Publisher and/or Pages. Word (even Word 2.0!) was and is spectacular for end user publishing...in the right hands.

I would take issue, however, with Scrivener "prettifying" - I would argue that its purpose is just the opposite. It is not a Word processor and trying to make it one just makes god kill kittens (although, I think 3.0 may've surrendered to the masses of people who don't read the instructions on the tin). Please everyone - think of the kittens!

But I digress.

@MarjaE's issue (and forgive me MarjaE if I've got the wrong end of the stick), seems to me to be that instead of starting with a method, MarjaE (and, indeed we Mobilereaders) is/are starting with a solution (e.g. software).

As someone who dealt with programmers for the last 20 years (and research scientists for 15 years before that), I saw this all the time. When you're an expert with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

So, I would suggest that one needs to step back and figure out what needs to be done. e.g. (obviously simplified):

I need to have research sources easily searchable (by subject)
I need to have my work/notes searchable (by subject)

etc...

Once you've got this straightened out, you've basically got your requirements and then you can look to which solution and method suits them - and you - best.

If it were me (using Scrivener, for instance - but only for an example), I would create a single project and whack all the sources into Research, with each source getting its own "index card" (maybe name of publication/author as the title, and the details in the body of the card...whatever).
Then I would create a new project for the actual publication/paper and as required, drag a copy of the appropriate references for that particular subject/work into its Research folder.
Of course, if it's one honking big research paper, then I'd use the project with all the sources.

Whatever you use, I think you've got to get everything under some kind of control and this (speaking from experience) sometimes feels like it'll take longer than the actual book/paper/thing you're working on. It's a daunting task, but like cleaning out the garage, it's oh-so-worth it when you're done.

Over the years (too many years) I've worked with people who have used, successfully:

Word (I would create a specific directory for all the documents & notes and have them all in one place - makes searching so much easier)
One Note (my colleague used my "one honking big file" theory but with ON). Everything went in it.
DevonThink (not my cuppa but some swear by it). I would've added Circus Ponies Notebook but that's apparently gone...poof.
Scrivener (and every other novel writing solution in the universe)

Good luck and I feel your pain.

10-01-2017, 06:42 PM	#28
skb Evangelist Posts: 401 Karma: 1597305 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Ipod G4, MacOS 10.12, Calibre, Pocketbook Touch HD 3	@Hitch, I couldn't agree more about people not understanding (or using properly) Word's features. Years ago, I was using it (with carefully prepared templates) successfully to desktop publish beautiful stuff that had previously been done (badly and taking an eon in time) in Ventura Publisher and/or Pages. Word (even Word 2.0!) was and is spectacular for end user publishing...in the right hands. I would take issue, however, with Scrivener "prettifying" - I would argue that its purpose is just the opposite. It is not a Word processor and trying to make it one just makes god kill kittens (although, I think 3.0 may've surrendered to the masses of people who don't read the instructions on the tin). Please everyone - think of the kittens! But I digress. @MarjaE's issue (and forgive me MarjaE if I've got the wrong end of the stick), seems to me to be that instead of starting with a method, MarjaE (and, indeed we Mobilereaders) is/are starting with a solution (e.g. software). As someone who dealt with programmers for the last 20 years (and research scientists for 15 years before that), I saw this all the time. When you're an expert with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So, I would suggest that one needs to step back and figure out what needs to be done. e.g. (obviously simplified): I need to have research sources easily searchable (by subject) I need to have my work/notes searchable (by subject) etc... Once you've got this straightened out, you've basically got your requirements and then you can look to which solution and method suits them - and you - best. If it were me (using Scrivener, for instance - but only for an example), I would create a single project and whack all the sources into Research, with each source getting its own "index card" (maybe name of publication/author as the title, and the details in the body of the card...whatever). Then I would create a new project for the actual publication/paper and as required, drag a copy of the appropriate references for that particular subject/work into its Research folder. Of course, if it's one honking big research paper, then I'd use the project with all the sources. Whatever you use, I think you've got to get everything under some kind of control and this (speaking from experience) sometimes feels like it'll take longer than the actual book/paper/thing you're working on. It's a daunting task, but like cleaning out the garage, it's oh-so-worth it when you're done. Over the years (too many years) I've worked with people who have used, successfully: Word (I would create a specific directory for all the documents & notes and have them all in one place - makes searching so much easier) One Note (my colleague used my "one honking big file" theory but with ON). Everything went in it. DevonThink (not my cuppa but some swear by it). I would've added Circus Ponies Notebook but that's apparently gone...poof. Scrivener (and every other novel writing solution in the universe) Good luck and I feel your pain.