This week we have one more issue dedicated to the 6 skills of Personal Knowledge Management. If you lost the previous issues, read them here:

• ​6 PKM skills​
• ​Active note-taking​
• ​Active reading​
• ​Idea Management​

Hello Reader,

In previous issues, we covered three foundational skills for Personal Knowledge Management (PKM): Active Note-Taking, Active Reading, and Idea Management.

These 3 skills support us in remembering ideas we come across, boosting our understanding of our sources, and allowing us to find our ideas (and notes!) quickly in case we want to apply them to a given situation.

For most people, that’s everything they need.

But if you are a researcher, that’s just the foundation.

The next 3 skills are the ones that move us from PKM into PKM for Research. But before we talk about one of them, what do I mean by research?

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Many people use the word “research” in a casual way, to indicate they have searched for information and have chosen one answer from the multiple answers given to their query.

It is easy to associate “search” with “research”, but that is not what I mean by research.

This is how I like to point out the difference between them:

Search is to search on Google and look for one answer that satisfies your query.

Research is to search on Google and evaluate multiple answers to build your answer from them.

Search is to read a single textbook and accept what is written there.

Research is to read multiple textbooks and build your mental model from the connections between ideas you got from them.

Search requires us to understand what we read. Research requires us to analyse, evaluate, and synthesise multiple pieces of information.

In other words, research requires us to apply critical thinking.

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When reading critically you will find interesting things:

• People using the same term to refer to different understandings (e.g. the multiple practical definitions of “atomic notes” or “Maps of Content”).
• People disagreeing even when they are saying the same thing. They just happen to be using different words.
• People agreeing even when they are saying the opposite of each other. They just happen to be using the same terms to refer to opposite ideas.

When you read critically, you start finding nuance.

And that’s when traditional PKM practices start falling apart.

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When highlighting or quoting, you work only with other people’s words. But knowledge itself is not in the words. Instead, it is in what the authors communicate by using those words.

When reading critically, we are trying to understand what the authors are communicating (via Active Reading) and trying to capture that understanding (via Active Note-Taking). But our thoughts are messy. So we also want to identify which ideas are being transmitted and how they differ from each other (via Idea Management).

These are the basics of critical thinking.

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But when we talk about research, we need to go beyond understanding individual sources.

We need to be able to look at different pieces of information and build an integrated model representing our understanding.

We need to move from a group of sources (or observations) [Example A] into a coherent connection between ideas (called a “Conceptual Framework” in academic research) [Example B].

The ability that leads us from A to B is what I call “Networked Reading”.

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Networked Reading is the ability to analyse and synthesise knowledge from multiple sources.

It is an extension of Active Reading and Idea Management.

Active Reading helps us build an understanding of a single source, whereas Networked Reading helps us see nuance in what we read.

Idea Management helps us to identify ideas in our understanding, whereas Networked Reading uses idea notes as the point of synthesis for what we read.

In other words, ideas are what link multiple sources together. When it comes to PKM, idea notes link directly to the sources mentioning that idea (regardless of how the author names the idea).

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By focusing on ideas rather than the words in the sources, we can identify when: different authors are talking about the same idea using different words, or talking about different ideas using the same words.

This is critical thinking and this is what researchers ought to do.

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How do you do Networked Reading?

The power of Networked Reading comes from Active Reading and Idea Management. But it is also true you can use a simple version of it without any knowledge of either.

You only need a paper or an infinite Canvas (don't try this just with text notes), a few quotes addressing a question, and some time to do the exercise.

Here is the exact guided exercise I have in The Scrintal Course:

1. Select multiple answers to the same question (for example: Quotes that answer “What is the definition of PKM?”)
2. List which ideas you are getting from each quote (sentences representing what is said or implied by the author).
3. Group ideas that are equal or similar to each other (while keeping a link between ideas and sources).
4. Name what makes them similar (these are new ideas you are creating).
5. Investigate how these ideas (the ones you “extracted” and the ones you “created”) link to each other.

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Knowledge of Active Reading and Idea Management will improve step 2 and allow you to notice nuances that other people reading the same sources may not notice. All the rest work in the same way.

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You don’t need to have a PKM practice to think critically, but a PKM practice can boost your critical thinking by providing you with the mindset shifts, the methods, and the tools to support you.

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And, as always, if you have any questions don’t feel shy. Just reply to this email and let’s chat. I take some time to reply but I reply to all emails 😊

Talk to you soon.

Until then, take care.

Bianca

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