In Biblioscape, there are several ways to add new notes. When you read a reference's full text inside Biblioscape or on paper, you are likely to write down quotes, comments, and ideas about what you read. In the Biblioscape reference editor, you can display the full text on the left panel, and take notes in the right panel. At the brainstorming stage of your writing, you can turn on the notes Quick Add and enter new notes continuously. If you use the Biblioscape built-in browser, you can capture a web page or part of a web as a note. Lastly, you can click the "New Note" button to add a note directly.
Annotate while you read
After collecting references for your projects, you enter the stage of reading and digesting your sources. Taking quality notes is very important. The time you spend on note taking will pay off down the line with less review time and increased retention. When you take notes in Biblioscape, each note is stamped with a creating date. When you edit a note, the date of modification is also stamped. First, open your reference in the reference editor. If you have the full text URL or have the PDF file path in the attachment field, you can read the full text on the left.
When you are ready to take a note, click the "Taking Notes" tab. Then click "New Note" button. First select a note folder if the default one is not what you want. Enter a title for the new note. You need to select a note type. This is important because it will tell you if the note is a direct quote, a paraphrased quote, a summary, or if it is your own idea. The "Link relationship" describes the nature between your source and your note. If your note is about an argument that contradicts what is said in the source, you can chose "Contradicts". There are other options. You can also edit the list by editing the file "...\Biblioscape x\Global\link_relationship.txt". The bottom 3 edit boxes are optional. If your note is about certain text in your source, you should record the page number. You can add a link description if you have a comment about this link. This could be anything about the link. Writing quality notes is essential, and retrieving your notes is also important, so you should categorize your notes. You can drag and drop your notes in the notes module. You can also categorize your annotation notes manually when they are created. Separate each category by "; ". If the category does not exist in your database, Biblioscape will add it to the "New Categories" folder.
After clicking the OK button, the new note will be added. Biblioscape will add the source as a temporary citation because you should cite the source if the note is a direct quote, a paraphrased quote, or a summary. The placement of the temporary citation depends on the style your writing follows. For example, if you follow the MLA style, you should put the temporary citation in the end, like: John Smith states, "Cataloguing unstructured information is a chronic problem, that if not adequately addressed can be terminal for your organization" [Smith, 2003 @45 #470]. If you follow the APA style, you should put it near the beginning, like: The author [Smith, 2003 @45 #470] states, "Cataloguing unstructured information is a chronic problem, that if not adequately addressed can be terminal for your organization".
Capture your thoughts during brainstorming
After receiving your writing assignment, you need to decide what you should write. If you are given a topic, you need to come up with ideas about the topic. If you have an open-ended assignment, you need to consider your passions and interests, and list potential topics. When you brainstorm, you let yourself think freely. You need to come up with lots of ideas and not be bothered by the details. You can do this in the Biblioscape notes module. Go to a notes folder and turn of the Quick Add feature. Start typing your ideas. After each idea, press the Enter key and start typing the next one. Do not stop until you have emptied your head. Then, you can enter the details of each note and re-arrange the order or create parent child relationships by using drag and drop.
Another place to use brainstorm to add notes is in the composition module. The composition module is designed to write theses and books. In the composition module, you can use brainstorm in a similar way to come up with outlines for your writing. We will cover the composition module in another chapter.
Capture content from the Web as new notes
When doing research on the Web, you may need to capture a web page or part of a web page for future reference. If you use the Biblioscape built-in web browser, you can capture a web page either as a reference, so you can cite it in your writing, or as a note. To capture past of a web page as a note, first select the text you want to capture. Then click the toolbar button "Capture Page as a Note". A new note will be created. The web page's title will become the note's title. The selected text will be added to the note's content. The web address will be added to the note's Web URL field. If you want to capture the whole web page as a note, do not select any text and click the "Capture Page as a Note" button. Biblioscape will save the web page as a Web Archive file and put it under the "Attachment" folder under your database folder. You will still have a record of that page even if it become unavailable in the future.
Add a note using the note editor
If you need to write down a piece of information that is not related to a reference, you can go to a notes folder and click the menu command "Notes | New Note". Enter a title first. You can select a note type if needed. Each note type is associated with a different icon. Assigning a note type is optional. Enter the content of your note in the Note tab. A standard set of formatting toolbar buttons is available at the top. There are several tabs on the right. Clicking on the "References" tab will display your reference collection by folder or by collection. You can also perform a search. You can drag selected references on the right panel and drop them anywhere in your note to insert a temporary citation. This makes it very convenient for you to cite a source while writing a note. On the "Categories" tab, you can click the check boxes to assign the current note to different categories. On the "Links" tab, all the links to the current note are displayed. You can add new links or deleting existing ones. On the "Misc" tab, you can enter any text about the current note. It could be a comment, a reminder, etc. Anything about the note that you don't want to add into the note itself, you can add to the Misc field. On the "Snapshots" tab, you can save multiple versions of the current note. It is a basic note versioning system that will be covered in detail in the next section.
