Card-File System (Note-taking method)

• 2024-0523-1700-42 BN. The Card-File System of Note-Taking (Goutor, 1980).
  • 2024-0527-2021-57 CN. Goutor's Card-File System utilises three basic note types.
  • 2024-0527-1517-28 CN. Note-taking methods must consider the practicalities of retrieval and use.
    • 2024-0527-1528-18 CN. If note-taking is a form of filtering, then the nature of that filter will also determine the shape of your final products.
  • 2024-0527-1535-37 CN. When taking notes, remember your research's focus - and keep things relevant.
    • 2024-0527-1544-14 CN. Note-taking should stay relevant to your research; that said, avoid tunnel-vision.
    • 2024-0527-1602-49 QN. 'If one thinks of the final product of the historian's labours as mosaic made up of dozens of separate bits of information...'
  • 2024-0527-2205-57 CN. The usefulness of any note-taking methodology has a limit, and if more time is being put into managing it than actually taking notes... that limit's been reached.
    • 2024-0527-2208-55 QN. 'The ultimate purpose is ... not to produce beautiful notes ... but rather useable notes.' Jacques Goutor.
  • 2024-0527-2201-23 QN. 'In developing the mechanics of a note-taking system, one further criterion should be kept in mind—comfort.' Jacques Goutor.
  • 2024-0527-1600-11 QN. 'The smaller the note, the easier it is to classify.'
    • 2024-0527-2152-40 CN. When taking notes, focus on clarity ( = one piece of information per note).
    • 2024-0527-2158-42 QN. 'Each note should have a life of its own, so that it can stand independently of every other one in the file'. Jacques Goutor.
  • 2024-0527-1609-07 CN. The card-file system of note-taking helps reveal gaps in your research.
  • 2024-0527-2016-46 CN. The mechanical process of a good note-taking methodology can help the researcher avoid careless errors.
    • 2024-0527-2213-07 CN. Accuracy, when note-taking, is paramount.
      • 2024-0527-2037-27 QN. 'The historian is only as good as his card-file.' Jacques Goutor.