Once you have found some sources, it is time to start taking notes. You should not be writing onto a Word document at this stage. There is still a need for pen and paper in the 21st century!
Unless you have some magical powers, you will not find information in the order that you will eventually write it in your essay. Some of the information that might appear useful at first might not be included in your essay after all. It is too early to know exactly what facts you will use. Your research question may change slightly over the next few weeks.
Therefore, you have to get organized! Many researchers recommend using index cards, because it is easy to shuffle and rearrange them when you start to put your first draft together. However, a notebook is probably just as good. The point is, whenever you take notes from a source be sure to start by writing the title, author, page number etc (see the "Taking notes" link to the right). If you're using many websites, bookmark them and create a folder for them. This will be useful when you cite your sources later.
It is also a very good idea to establish sub-topics within your research question, so that you can find all the notes you've taken related to particular things easily (once you start to write your first draft). Be sure to read "Tip Sheet 11: Creating Subtopic Headings" via the "Taking notes" link.
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