I am overwhelmed with dissertation material and not done writing so I can't just pitch it. Some of it is reasonably well organized in a 4 drawer file cabinet and book shelves, but I still have boxes of books and papers. Has anyone else dealt with this? I'm out of file and bookshelf space! I've thought about trying to index it on the computer so that the overflow could remain in boxes yet still be retrievable, but truthfully, that would be as time consuming as the writing itself. I have a full-time job and two teenagers, so this has been, and will continue to be, a long project.
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Posted 1 year ago #
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I gather from your comment that you're not using a reference manager? If you were, I assume you'd have pdf's instead of physical papers of articles? As I see it you have two options; continue as you are handling things now (which seems to make you frustrated) or you take a break from writing and go through articles that are downloadable, then make references in the manager of them and chuck the paper version out. If you have a lot of books, maybe you could get rid of the ones that you might not need anymore and turn to library books or a colleague in case of emergency? Another approach is to divide all sources by chapter/context/etc. what works for you and simply box references not needed at the moment. Other than this I'm afraid I don't know what to suggest.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Storing your papers by topic area or chapter can be very helpful, but make sure that you sort your papers first and then cut out the "Just in Case" papers and books. You can always box them up out of the way somewhere in case you really do end up needing them.
I shared my own method in this old thread here and there are some very useful ideas from other posters, as well: http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/advice-for-organizing-books-articles-etcfor-a-dissertation Be sure to check the forum archives for paper clutter, there are a lot of great ideas around!
Lastly, try meeting with your a reference librarian about your digital organization options. A lot of university libraries offer RefWorks or other systems that integrate with their search functions and have periodic workshops to learn the systems, so it doesn't take as long to set up a digital library for yourself as it would if you uploaded each paper individually.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'd take a week or two off from the writing and devote the time exclusively to arranging the STUFF. Separate it clearly into books and printed papers. Divide each category into frequently and infrequently used. Divide each again, into the categories that make sense to you. That could be by date, by topic, by author, whatever. If you'd tend to forget the categories, make yourself a cheatsheet.
Now, for the storage ... if it were me, I'd invest in one or two rolling book carts and put the frequently used books on the cart(s) right next to the desk. You won't have to get up and hunt around for the books. You can also get rolling file carts, arranged so that you look DOWN into the files from your desk chair -- so perhaps you'd want to put the frequently consulted papers in one of those, in hanging folders. Perhaps the rest would fit in the four-drawer file cabinet? If not, get another file cabinet and if it won't fit in your study, stick it in another corner of the house. Put the "just in case" files there.
What you want is to have everything you need right at hand, so that you don't have to jump up and go across the room every time you need to pull a quote or check a reference. Everything else should be on shelves or in hanging files, organized and labeled. Storing mounds of STUFF in boxes and having to dig through the boxes when you need it is eventually going to add up to more than the time it would take to organize your STUFF in the first place.
You'll end up with with book cart(s) and hanging files forming a little bunker around your desk -- which doesn't look all that great, but greatly simplifies writing. You just spin your office chair to get what you need.
My current setup is a minimal version of that. I have one small book cart, with reference books (three dictionaries, Chicago Manual of Style, etc.) on one side of the desk, and a deep file drawer on the other side. This is sufficient for almost anything short of a dissertation.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Is one of your kids an organizer? Two out of three of mine are. I'd sic them on the project.
Posted 1 year ago # -
hi fog-moon, i know your situation. i have had 37 folders (8cm ringinders, each for about 700 sheet of paper) and they have been filled up with copies (printed on both sides of the papers) plus uncounted meters of scientific books. one day i started to scan the texts, stopped and started to unclutter the texts first. i really don't need all of the texts anymore. after that i began to look for digital versions of books and articles and recycled the paper version. i am still in the process of scanning. that's what i do when i know i can't concentrate on my scientific research anymore. i take a pause and scan for 20 minutes, proove and save them. after that there is the most satisfying step: toss the papers in the recyclingbin. feels great. i have now downsized to 7 folders and 2 meters of books and it's still a lot of work to do but i feel so freeeeeeeeee :) plus, i have the texts availiable everywhere because i carry them as a pdf on my laptop, that's really cool. scanning scientific texts is one of my daily to-dos. it feels so good. you still have the information you need but no physical clutter. i'd recommend: just do it :)
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yes, scanning is a good idea. I didn't go into that because it's a long-term project, and sorting the STUFF comes first. Once you're organized, it will probably be clear what you need to scan.
Once you start scanning, be obsessive about backups; use an external hard drive onsite AND an offsite backup utility like Carbonite. It would be tragic to put that much effort into scanning. recycle the originals, and then lose your files because your hard drive went bad and you hadn't backed up.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm curious about reference manager software. Ds is probably(if funding works out) starting a PhD in the Autumn and I could suggest he investigates software before he gets an uncontrollable heap of materials!
What software packages are out there?Posted 1 year ago # -
Netleigh- I used EndNote, which is good a general manager although it has some quirks depending on your computer OS. Plus: it allows you to add notes and to attach the pdfs of the papers themselves. Minus: The library is stored on your computer, so you have to manually transfer files to other EndNote-enabled computers using USB. One copy of EndNote can install on up to 3 computers.
My university also offered RefWorks. I didn't use it much because I found it clunky, but it interfaced with the University Library website so you could save both your searches and chosen articles online using your university account. It also offered reference-page printouts.
I'm sure that there are other options out there. Your son's best bet is to go into the library during orientation and ask about reference manager workshops.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@ zora, true, backups become very important! i use dropbox software, it syncs automatically to a webserver and any conneted computer. that's very comfortable and safe.
@netleigh: a lot of students use CITAVI. i am a bit oldfashioned, i use an excelsheet :)Posted 1 year ago # -
I use EndNote, it's easy to use and you can shunt things straight from Google Scholar and other reference resources straight into it. I can't even begin to imagine the paper clutter there must be for a PhD <shudder>, but the other thread mentioned has some great ideas on it, I will be returning to it when I start my PhD... When I started this masters I was determined to be as paper-free as possible, I always thought I did best with paper copies and scribbling on things, but using PDFs has saved so much paper clutter that I've adapted. So, papers on a big memory stick for working with at home, EndNote for doing bibliographies and keeping everything organised at uni. Papers for reading on my Kindle. Someone I was talking to at uni uses Zotero, which I think is free. I went to visit one of my lecturers the other day and I literally didn't recognise his office and walked straight past. His standard-issue cluttered academic's office had been completely transformed as he had got rid of every bit of paper other than textbooks and replaced them all with digital versions. Bless him :)
Posted 1 year ago # -
Thank you, everyone! Your ideas are really helpful and encouraging. I really was feeling quite defeated. I'm intrigued by the reference manager ideas. My doctorate program is in law so I need to follow the profession's truly crazy Blue Book system. Maybe there are programs for that, although I've never heard of any, but it can't hurt to ask a law librarian. I also agree that using PDFs makes sense. I just haven't wanted to take the time and I'm also a paper person. I'm persuaded that the time investment is worth it, but how hard has it been for paper people who've done this to adjust?
Posted 1 year ago # -
@fog-moon: i was not convinced to like the idea of reading pdfs. i just wanted the papers to go and so i told myself: if i ever need one or more of them again on paper, i will print the one i need. no problem. maybe not green but a solution. but i got used to read pdfs and after 3 month or 4, now i prefer the pdfs. i scan the papertexts to pdfs and if i really use the text intensively i take the adobe software and transfer it into...what is it, words? letters? text? --> so it gets ready to be copied into my documents and searchable. that's more than cool. and so i can make comments, place bookmarks etc. for me, the pdfs became even better then the paper versions.
Posted 1 year ago #
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