How to read?

Organizing my literature review

One of the most daunting task that I have been avoiding is doing the literature review. I remember during those times when I conducted a lit review for my masters thesis, I was so disorganised. I couldn't remember what I had read and I didn't know where I had kept the articles. At that time, we didn't use endnote.

I am determined that for my Phd, I would do a better job. . At least spending less time to just look for things.

Yesterday, I got a few tips from Suraya & Aini.
They suggested that I put my notes in a table using excel, dividing it into columns (year, author, title, theme, etc).
Then keep the ref in endnote.
Then draw a mindmap.
There are 2 free mindmap softwares on the web (Freemind and can't remember the other one).
But... Aini now ends up doing it on paper.
One student even had it on mahjong paper.

I thought those tips are useful.
Thanks Suraya & Aini.

Ooops...
also found important links fom academic skills unit:
Literature search
Reading strategies
Note taking
Courseworks

Tips from postgraduate essentials forum

1) Make a search diary (spreadsheet, include Boolean search)
2) Don't rely on the SuperSearch MultiDatabase Search feature
3) Make a time to speak to a subject librarian
4) Think around the topic as much as possible and record all possible terms that could be used
5) Remember to try UK and US spellings, alternative and related terms;
international terms; former terms (i.e. non pc versions); broader terms (general results); and narrower terms (may be too specific)
6) E-mail alerts

Looking for past theses

Past theses are important source of information.
Below are important links:

Australasian Digital Theses Program

Melbourne Uni's Thesis: Supersearch - login - Information Services Digital Repository - Research collections (UMER) - Theses
PhdData.org
Proquest: Supersearch - login - find database - proquest (dissertation and theses).

I couldn't find the Index to Theses with Abstracts Accepted for Higher Degrees by the Universities of Great Britain and Ireland and the Council for National Academic Awards, as mentioned in postgraduate essentials.

Learning style

Hmmm, I found out something interesting yesterday...
My scores on learning style
Active & Reflective: active +3
Sensing & intuitive: +7 intuitive
Visual & Verbal: +11 visual
Sequential & Global: Global +9

These are the important links:
Index of learning styles
Description of learning styles

What should I do?
Need to compensate for my weaknesses, as my learning style is not balanced.
1) Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link the facts, or try to find the connections yourself. You may also be prone to careless mistakes on test because you are impatient with details and don't like repetition (as in checking your completed solutions). Take time to read the entire question before you start answering and be sure to check your results.

2) If you are a visual learner, try to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts, or any other visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal. Ask your instructor, consult reference books, and see if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course material are available. Prepare a concept map by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with arrows between concepts to show connections. Color-code your notes with a highlighter so that everything relating to one topic is the same color.

3) If you are a global learner, it can be helpful for you to realize that you need the big picture of a subject before you can master details. If your instructor plunges directly into new topics without bothering to explain how they relate to what you already know, it can cause problems for you. Fortunately, there are steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more rapidly. Before you begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter to get an overview. Doing so may be time-consuming initially but it may save you from going over and over individual parts later. Instead of spending a short time on every subject every night, you might find it more productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large blocks. Try to relate the subject to things you already know, either by asking the instructor to help you see connections or by consulting references. Above all, don't lose faith in yourself; you will eventually understand the new material, and once you do your understanding of how it connects to other topics and disciplines may enable you to apply it in ways that most sequential thinkers would never dream of.