Oxford University Computing Services Research Information Management Organising Humanities Material.

Oxford University Computing Services

Research Information Management

Organising Humanities Material


You should have...

▪ A copy of the course handbook▫ Includes more information about the topics

covered in this presentation ▫ Plus step-by-step instructions for the

exercises

▪ Access to the exercise files

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Information management

▪ How you organise all the source material, notes, and other documents that relate to your research

▪ Covers both paper and electronic material

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Key principles

▪ There’s no single right way to do it

▪ Organisation is a means to efficient research, not an end in itself

▪ If the system does what you need it to, it’s a good system

▪ Strike the balance between doing too much and too little

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Key principles

▪ We need to be honest with ourselves about what’s working and what isn’t

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“But I know where everything is!”


Key principles

▪ But there’s no need to feel guilty for not living up to some perceived ‘gold standard’ of organisation

▪ Clear desks and empty inboxes work for some people, but not for all

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The dinosaur in the cupboard

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Be realistic

▪ The aim is to get the best results for as little work as possible

▪ If your system is too complicated, you may end up with a backlog▫ Try using loose categories▫ Have a ‘holding pen’ for incoming material▫ Can you reduce the quantity of incoming

material?

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Finding the time

▪ Common problems:▫ There aren’t enough hours in the day▫ It doesn’t feel like real research▫ It’s dull!

▪ Possible solutions▫ A shift in attitude: not research, but an

investment that makes research easier▫ Making use of pockets of dead time

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Motivational strategies

▪ Chore Wars: http://www.chorewars.com/

▪ If all else fails, try bribery

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It pays to plan ahead

▪ Some extra work when you collect material may prevent a lot of future hassle

▪ Good questions to ask yourself include:▫ What will I use this for? ▫ What do I need to do to ensure I can

retrieve this?

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And when you’ve retrieved it...

▪ Will it be clear what the source was?

▪ Will it be clear what it means?

▪ Is there a clear record of what I’ve done to the information?

▪ Does my funding body have any requirements about sharing data?

▪ Will other researchers be able to make sense of it?

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Data management planning

▪ For bigger projects, a formal data management plan may be needed▫ Required by some funding bodies

▪ See the University of Oxford’s Research Data Management website: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/rdm/

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Other aims of organisation

▪ Reminding▫ Items serve as a prompt to do something▫ Sub-folders can act as a task list

▪ Representing▫ Folder structure reflects information

structure

▪ Connecting▫ Links between similar items are highlighted

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Retrieval methods

▪ Location-based finding

▪ Using a search function

▪ Most of us default to location-based finding

▪ For electronic information, searching may be a better option▫ This has an impact on how we organise our

information15


Small group discussion

▪ What sort of material do you work with?

▪ What organisational challenges have you faced?

▪ What tools or techniques work for you?

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Organising paper material

▪ Are you a vertical or a horizontal organiser?▫ Terms coined by philosopher John Perry▫ Vertical organisers like things neatly filed

away▫ Horizontal organisers like lots of information

spread out

▪ Don’t force yourself into the wrong mould

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Tips for horizontal organisers

▪ Maximise your working space

▪ Create different zones on your desk

▪ Keep the quantity of information manageable

▪ Experiment with other forms of reminder

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Tools for horizontal organisers

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Image from http://www.staples.co.uk/ Image from http://deskaccessories.guidestobuy.com/


Tools for horizontal organisers

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Image from http://www.shoppingbank.com/


Tips for vertical organisers

▪ Make the process of filing as quick and easy as possible▫ Clear labels and colour coding can help

▪ Distinguish short-term and long-term information

▪ Don’t panic if you can’t keep on top of the filing▫ But do consider streamlining

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Tips for everyone

▪ Think about how your work space is laid out▫ Where’s your recycling bin?

▪ Be disciplined about getting rid of what’s no longer useful

▪ Make sure everything has a place to live

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Organising electronic material

▪ Two main types of system:

▪ Hierarchical▫ Items organised in folders and sub-

folders

▪ Tag-based▫ Each item assigned one or more tags

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Benefits of hierarchical systems

▪ Familiar and widely used

▪ Good at representing the structure of information▫ Constructing the hierarchy can itself be a

helpful exercise

▪ Similar items are stored together

▪ Sub-folders can function as task lists

▪ Great for location-based finding24


Drawbacks of hierarchical systems

▪ Surprisingly hard work to set up and maintain – ‘a heavyweight cognitive activity’

▪ Can be hard to get the right balance between breadth and depth

▪ Items can only go in one place

▪ Time consuming to reorganise if the hierarchy becomes out of date

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Benefits of tag-based systems

▪ Items can go in more than one category▫ Moreover, multiple types of category can be

used

▪ Many people find tagging quicker and easier than hierarchical filing

▪ When collaborating, can be easier to combine than hierarchical systems

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Drawbacks of tag-based systems

▪ Not how operating systems store files

▪ If material isn’t tagged properly when first acquired, it can be hard to find later

▪ There’s a risk of inconsistent tagging

▪ And of similarly named categories getting mixed

▪ Less good at representing the structure of information

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Managing a hierarchical system

▪ In Windows, Windows Explorer is the best tool

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Creating a tag-based system

▪ Possible tools include:

▪ Bibliographic software▫ EndNote, RefWorks, Mendeley...

▪ Image management programs▫ Flickr, Picasa...

▪ Gmail▫ Designed for email, but can be used to

store files29


Compare and contrast

▪ Open the Exercise 3 folder on your computer

▪ Work through the tasks in Exercise 3

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Small group discussion

▪ What sort of structure(s) do you currently use?

▪ What do you see as the key advantages and disadvantages of the different types of system?

▪ Are there specific tasks one sort of system seems particularly suitable for?

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Tips for making a hierarchical system work

▪ If possible, avoid overlapping categories▫ Find other ways of linking items

▪ Don’t let your folders get too big – or your structure get too deep▫ Create archive folders for older

material

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Shortcuts

▪ Shortcuts allow you to open a file from multiple places▫ Recognisable by the small curved arrow in

the corner of the icon

▪ Use to place in more than one category

▪ Use for frequently accessed items

▪ Use to create project folders

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File names

▪ Make them concise, but meaningful

▪ Think about what comes at the beginning of the name▫ So related items are grouped together

▪ Order files or folders by starting the name with a number

▪ Or push one file to the top using an underscore ( _ )

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Adding searchable keywords

▪ Each file has a set of properties – information about the file itself

▪ View by right-clicking on the icon, then select Properties

▪ The summary tab includes a keywords field

▪ Terms entered here will be found by the Windows search function

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Linking notes and sources

▪ Add hyperlinks to files elsewhere on your computer▫ Bookmarks can be used to link to a

specific place in a file

▪ Or use bibliographic software to store both notes and source material

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Useful software tools

▪ OneNote

▪ Planz

▪ NVivo

▪ Scrivener

▪ A.nnotate

▪ Diigo

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Working with images

▪ To do it properly, use a database▫ FileMaker Pro, Access...▫ DaaS (Database as a Service) – coming in

2011

▪ To store basic information, Flickr or Picasa may be sufficient

▪ Other options include bibliographic software, or even a Word table

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Useful websites and services

▪ Research Skills Toolkit▫ http://www.skillstoolkit.ox.ac.uk/

▪ Research Data Management website▫ http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/rdm/

▪ InfoDev▫ http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/infodev/

▪ HFS back up service▫ http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/hfs/

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Have a go!

▪ Work through some or all of Exercises 5 to 9

▪ Explore some of the tools listed in Exercise 10

▪ If you’d like to learn more, look at the ITLP courses list

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Oxford University Computing Services Research Information Management Organising Humanities Material.

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