Last month, I published a post that promised subsequent posts on productive scholarly activity.  Specifically, that initial post focused on joy as a driver of scholarly productivity.  I noted there that the colleague who prompted me to start this series–my muse of sorts–thought readers might be interested in knowing about how I organize my research materials, among other things.  I pick up that idea here.

There is no single or simple answer to this question.  I am in a constant evolution in this part of my work, and the matter is complicated by the fact that research materials can be electronic, hard-copy, or orally conveyed.  I do now have some routines, however, and I have come to a few broadly applicable realizations along the way.  Most are likely obvious.  Nevertheless, I share them here today.

At the outset, it is critical to note that my work habits include mobility as a core value.  I work from wherever I am.  So, I have learned that my important research materials need to be captured in some way on my computer when possible.  

This has made me a Dropbox fan.  I download .pdf versions of all of the key academic and industry papers and any desired treatise sections, news articles, statutes, or other materials to a Dropbox folder labeled for each paper.  My research assistants and I can share the folder; each of us can deposit items to and retrieve items from there.  Moreover, I can access the documents even when my computer is not connected to the Internet.  This is great for longer plane rides, since I am too cheap to pay for Internet access in the air and like to unplug from time to time anyway.  (Although I know my battery power will not last all the way to Shanghai this weekend, I will work for at least part of the trip.  I plan to post on my Shanghai micro-finance and crowdfunding adventure from my “China office” next week.  Stay tuned.)

I have been introduced to software applications specifically designed for the storage of research materials.  They have nifty bells and whistles associated with them–like remembering the url for downloaded Internet resources and automatically generating citations.  But I have not actually used any of these applications yet.  I probably should.  They would likely increase my efficiency, since some downloaded papers do not have obvious origins, making me scramble to find the relevant citation information.  For the moment, Dropbox is the thing.

I also create folders on Westlaw and Lexis for the same purpose and use them in much the same way.  I was a die-hard Lexis user for most of my law practice and law teaching careers.  However, I now mostly use Westlaw.  When LexisAdvance first was introduced, I disliked the new interface so much, I re-learned how to use Westlaw and switched most of my academically oriented database research to Westlaw.  For me, the big difference between the folders on Dropbox and those on the proprietary databases is the fact that Dropbox folder contents are available even when Internet access is not available.  So, if I find something really important on Westlaw or Lexis tho which I need more constant access, I download a .pdf and store it in the Dropbox folder.

I keep important hard-copy resources in a large tote bag–one per project.  (My cat, Meowth, used to like to inhabit–and sometimes make his mark on–my tote bags at home.  We had to put him down about a year ago, so that is no longer an issue.  Despite the challenges, he was a good work companion . . . .  I miss him.)  If I own the books, I sometimes highlight in them.  Regardless, I like to mark key parts with Post-it notes or flags (preferring the latter as smaller and less destructible in transit).  I throw particularly valued books and reprints into my travel bags for trips.  I sometimes even wave them around at presentations.  I still like hard-copy books.  [sigh]

Finally, I take notes from relevant oral conversations and academic presentations either in a Word file saved to the Dropbox folder or, more commonly, in an email message with a subject header labeled for the project that I save in my email drafts folder.  (I do the same, by the way, for my talking points for work-in-process presentations on the project.)

I think that just about covers things.  The single core driver of my research habits is easy mobile access.  But shared use also is vital when I use research assistants or when I am co-authoring.

How do you organize your research materials?  Since I keep challenging myself to be more efficient and effective in this part of my work, I would be curious to know.  Leave comments or email me.