How do you keep track of your articles and resources?

[Melclin]

I use endnote for references separated into categories that just sorta popped up during uni. Then I have the pdf copy saved into an equally haphazard folder that had more to do with ease of access when I was writing assignments rather that good organization.

If I'm not writing an assignment, I find I'm too lazy to export the citation; I usually just save the articles as a pdf.


But I really need a better system. I have well in excess of a thousand journal articles with little to no proper organization. I'm gathering more everyday and I'm only at the start of my career so its only ganna get worse. :unsure:

How do you organise/keep track of all your resources/articles/webpages?

 

[medicRob]

I use endnote for references separated into categories that just sorta popped up during uni. Then I have the pdf copy saved into an equally haphazard folder that had more to do with ease of access when I was writing assignments rather that good organization.

If I'm not writing an assignment, I find I'm too lazy to export the citation; I usually just save the articles as a pdf.


But I really need a better system. I have well in excess of a thousand journal articles with little to no proper organization. I'm gathering more everyday and I'm only at the start of my career so its only ganna get worse. :unsure:

How do you organise/keep track of all your resources/articles/webpages?

Microsoft One Note or Evernote

 

[bluefinmedic]

do you mean for paramedic school? we used fisdap

 

[Melclin]

do you mean for paramedic school? we used fisdap

I only had a brief look at their web page, but I think there might be some misunderstanding.

I'm talking about organizing my own collection of academic articles, not a learning tool associated with university.

I'm looking to learn from other people's personal systems of organisation when it comes to bunches of literature.

@Rob: I've got Evernote and MS One note and I'll definitely be using more of them, but I'm hoping someone chimes in with a response that doesn't involve like a year of me fumbling about learning how to use them properly. I also seem to need the professional version of Evernote to export references from journal pages to tag to pdf and I don't feel like paying for anything just yet.

 

[medicRob]

do you mean for paramedic school? we used fisdap

FISDAP Is a tool used to organize clinicals. Melclin is talking about organizing research studies, annotations, and other resources.

 

[usafmedic45]

Endnote. 35,000 articles and counting....

 

[Melclin]

Endnote. 35,000 articles and counting...

So you've said. I find Endnote to be endlessly frustrating and clunky.

How have you split up your articles? How do you remember if "airway management in spinal injury" is under "airway" or "spinal"? Do you export the citation, save the pdf, then attach them? What about the pdf location? Etc etc. Can you run me through how its organized a little?

What Oz wants: A big idiot button next to the full text of the article I'm reading saying "Download", which, when clicked, downloads the citation, pdf and a number of tags and seats them comfortably in Evernote for intuitive iphone style browsing. Discuss.

 

[thegreypilgrim]

I'm currently in the same situation you are Melclin...except probably more disorganized. Currently I just have all my saved journal articles saved to a dedicated folder strewn about 2 separate laptops!

I also got extremely lazy in naming the PDF files as I saved them...some are titled by author & subject whereas others by the journal which published them. It seems whatever I felt like doing at that particular moment. No systematization at all!

The idea of somehow going back to sort them all out seems hopeless...but once I graduate uni I probably won't have much better to do with myself. :blush:

I'd also really love to scan all my handwritten notes from my various courses over the years to save in one electronic location. Certainly not gonna do that myself though but would rather pay some poor soul at Kinko's to do it for me.

Let me know if you find a good system!

 

[Melclin]

I'm currently in the same situation you are Melclin...except probably more disorganized. Currently I just have all my saved journal articles saved to a dedicated folder strewn about 2 separate laptops!

I also got extremely lazy in naming the PDF files as I saved them...some are titled by author & subject whereas others by the journal which published them. It seems whatever I felt like doing at that particular moment. No systematization at all!

The idea of somehow going back to sort them all out seems hopeless...but once I graduate uni I probably won't have much better to do with myself. :blush:

I'd also really love to scan all my handwritten notes from my various courses over the years to save in one electronic location. Certainly not gonna do that myself though but would rather pay some poor soul at Kinko's to do it for me.

Let me know if you find a good system!

I hear ya. I don't have anything better to do, but I still can't be arsed going through the whole lot and reorganizing them.

If I figure something out, I'll post it here. I think I'll probably buy the full version of Evernote and do it that way.

 

[Icenine]

Google Docs.

Each article gets as many tags as I need it to have. The tags don't add to the total storage space used and the folders are only virtual so you don't need multiple copies of the same doc for it to be in multiple folders.

 

[akflightmedic]

I have similar issues with my adult anatomy lesson collections...so difficult to classify and some fall under multiple classifications, some by preference, some by need for instant recall...it gets very, very confusing and can become quite overwhelming!

So frustrating it was, I just deleted it all once and began anew.