Everyone can be a researcher. Weekly tips on how to beat perfectionism, manage your knowledge, and create your original contribution.
How to find your references in 1-click?
Hello Reader,
I have an important question for you:
How many hours have you wasted looking for a source that YOU KNOW you have read before?
If you have been doing research for a little while I can safely say: DAYS.
I am not exaggerating.
According to a study made by Choueiry on more than 90 thousand papers in the Medical Sciences, 90% of the research papers have anywhere between 8 and 102 references, with the typical amount around 39 references per paper.
So If you take 20 minutes looking for a reference, then 39 references later and you have already wasted half a day (13 hours to be more specific).
That’s the size of the problem.
And we haven’t even talked about the time wasted formatting the bibliography section yet. (But that is a topic for another day)
So, how can we save those precious 20 minutes that, cumulatively, will save us days, weeks or even months if you want to follow a career of research-driven writer?
The answer is: Idea-based Reference Management.
And I was planning to create a very long email about that, but instead I have created a short FREE step-by-step guide on how to get started.
| Get the FREE guide here |
‘But wait a moment Bianca! I am not in the Medical Sciences. Will I waste that much time?’
I am from Computer Science, so I also got curious…
Then I went to give a quick look at my own publications and this is what I found.
A poster paper (usually 2 pages) has around 5 references.
A workshop or conference paper (8-10 pages) has somewhere between 10 to 15 references.
A journal paper (15+ pages) has around 40 references.
So, pretty close to the findings of Choueiry.
But I can say I had wasted way more than the “conservative” 20-min time I have given you.
When I was not properly tracking my sources, I would even lose a source “forever”. But now that I know best, I take my notes as soon as I come across an interesting idea and apply the Idea-based Reference Management.
So if you want to check the free guide here it goes the link again.
Otherwise, talk to you in the next Playbook issue.
Until then, take care.
Bianca
Independent Learner's Playbook
Everyone can be a researcher. Weekly tips on how to beat perfectionism, manage your knowledge, and create your original contribution.
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