Keeping track of all the material from online course work
can feel like “hoarding”! If you use an electronic file system, no one will
ever know –smile-. Start with an
electronic file for each course you take.
Name the file with the course
number, underscore, and an abbreviation of the course name (Eg.
504_Theory). Inside that course “file
folder”, create files for each week’s lesson and associated topic, for example
Week1_QualitativeResch (note: if you just name the file folders by week 1,
2, 3 etc., it is more difficult to retrieve the information for future use-like
finding information to study for an exam or to apply when writing a paper).
The next thing to do is organize all reference material
using software such as EBSCO (library databases). There is also a program
called “End Note” which costs money, but can also help ensure you have
referenced every citation in a longer paper.
Use the free reference management
system, EBSCO via the library access, that is the best bet.
EBSCO
host reference services
You access your university’s electronic library and select
a data base such as “Academic Search Premier” or CINAHL. Once you query an article, you will be in
EBSCO host. This system allows you to
set up an account. Every time you “log
in” to the EBSCO host database (with the account you set up) you will have the
ability to create a “Folder”. As you do
your literature searches, add key
articles to your “Folder”. You can then
export the articles selecting APA formatting to MS Word, for your own automatic
reference list. You can continue to add
articles through-out your MSN online program by simply updating your MS Word
file with the most recent articles you have found, which have been placed in
your EBSCO account folder.
The greatest advantage of electronic files is that there is
no file cabinet or “desk mess” to see how much information and material you are
keeping…….”just in case”.
Dr. Maggie
