THREAD. On writing, note-taking, reading, and synthesizing information. This fall, I taught Research Design at the doctoral level, and a Masters' Research (Thesis) Seminar.

Because of the way I like teaching (research design, research methods and mechanics of research), ....
... I quickly realized that teaching Note-Taking Techniques, Reading Strategies, and Synthesis Methods was complicated. It's kind of a chicken and egg problem. What do students need to learn first, reading or taking notes? Teaching strategies for both is hard to do simultaneously
I tried the following sequence:
- Reading Strategies
- Note-Taking Techniques
- Synthesis Methods
- Writing Tips

Turns out that students are thrust into the "you need to read a lot to understand what I am teaching" model quite early during their programmes. This poses challenges
Normally, I would assign Adler and Van Doren's "How to Read a Book" raulpacheco.org/2019/08/how-to… so that my students can learn various levels of reading.

Only problem? A&VD is a massive 350 pages' book. Just imagine the amount of time it's going to take them to even *skim it*.
After teaching this class over the summer at ITAM and this fall at CIDE and FLACSO, at the Masters and PhD levels, and after decades of teaching undergraduates, I am convinced now that

(a) students need a range (repertoire) of reading strategies raulpacheco.org/2019/08/develo…
(b) students need a "quick read" strategy before anything else (I teach my AIC method)
raulpacheco.org/2017/01/findin…

(c) once they learn how to skim, they NEED to learn how to take notes (whichever you want, Cornell Notes, Everything Notebook, Index Cards)
raulpacheco.org/resources/note…
(d) once they learn the basics of note-taking, they need to dump those notes into an organizational system (I teach my Conceptual Synthesis Excel Dump, CSED) raulpacheco.org/2016/06/synthe…
(e) once they learn this "quick read-quick notes-quick summary/synthesis/organization" strategy, students need to develop routines (I teach #AICCSED) raulpacheco.org/2017/12/carvin…

These "Read-Annotate-Dump Notes-Organize" routines help them develop a system of their own. That way...
... they can then move to more advanced reading, note-taking, systematizing routines/techniques/strategies. Once they've developed these routines and systems, THEN they can get into the habit of writing (and developing a writing practice).

You can teach writing earlier, surely.
But from experience, I can tell you that what my students have developed, a reading-note-taking-systematizing-writing practice, is driven by my pushing them to READ FIRST, and then TAKING NOTES, and only after having read broadly and deeply, THEN writing.
Reading should be a priority. Before you even send them on the field, or ask them to choose a model and download a dataset and run regressions, you (or your program, somehow) need to teach them this Reading-Taking Notes-Systematizing sequence first and foremost.

</end thread>
NEW BLOG POST: On the importance of the Reading, Note-Taking, Synthesizing and Writing sequence in developing an academic research and writing practice raulpacheco.org/2020/12/on-the…

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More from @raulpacheco

22 Dec
I have been thinking about writing a thread on how to link theory with research, which probably fits with the question that was asked by @PhDForum earlier today - how do we choose a theoretical framework.

I'm going to try to formulate this discussion as clearly as possible.
This discussion about how to link theory with research (and with the method) is one I have had with @salazar_elena and @gcaleman for a while now. How do we link all the theories we read into what we see in the empirical work?

I believe that there are three elements at play.
1) There are various types and levels of theory (grand theory, meso-level theory, micro-level theory), etc.

2) We (scholars, students, practitioners) need to read very broadly to be able to discern across theories.

3) We need to learn how to establish THEORETICAL EXPECTATIONS
Read 20 tweets
20 Dec
What I am going to say may potentially make me unpopular, but given that I don't give a crap about my popularity (or lack thereof) here it goes:

Stop making people feel bad about not taking time off over the holidays.

I am going to make a thread out of this b/c it deserves it.
I have loved public policy ever since I realized that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Practically everything I do/study/work on is associated with public affairs and public issues.

Populations are heterogeneous.

If you have ever taken my courses, ...
... you will KNOW and remember that the first lesson in Dr. Pacheco-Vega's courses is that POPULATIONS ARE HETEROGENEOUS.

You can't use blanket approaches to developing and implementing public policies when public issues have so many different elements that comprise them.
Read 10 tweets
8 Dec
REAL TALK:

I started this week feeling entirely unmotivated to do any work (even though I have a metric tonne of things to do). I was afraid of working on the revise-and-resubmits I have to finish because I was AFRAID OF GETTING THOSE PAPERS REJECTED BY THE JOURNAL.
I have a fairly decent publication record, and to this day I STILL FEEL WORRIED ABOUT GETTING A REJECTION.

(I no longer feel humiliated, but I still don't like rejections).

Public thanks to my writing group, and especially @AcademicBatgirl and @LuxanaRO for help motivating me
If you are starting this academic life, or are in the throes of getting a degree and/or writing a thesis, know that even the most experienced of us feel:
- lack of motivation
- fear of rejection
- stress
- unwillingness to do work (see above)
- overwhelmed feelings.
Read 6 tweets
6 Dec
It took me a VERY long time to appreciate my own writing.

Academia instills in you a false sense of humility. You ALWAYS have to be self-deprecating.

I'm a very good writer and I love what I write, and what I write is meaningful, valuable and important.

(yes, I said this).
Also, it took me submitting 3 articles this year, getting 3 R&Rs AND publishing 3 journal articles (two of them in the top journals in my discipline) to feel like I was back to writing as well as I did when I was a doctoral student (back then I wrote with such ferocity!)
I remember a couple of years ago, re-reading my doctoral dissertation and thinking "man, I used to write with such authority and audacity!"

These past couple of years I've just written with abandon.

I love writing, I love what I write and I am happy I am healthy again.
Read 4 tweets
6 Dec
It’s Sunday morning and I’m sitting in my living room and pondering about how I actually never had the joy of either hosting or attending a writing retreat.

When I was a faculty member at CIDE I tried to host #ShutUpAndWrite weekly sessions.

These mostly didn’t work.
I get that we are all busy. I am an incredibly busy person myself.

But for me the joy of organizing a writing retreat would reside in making it work.

I have my own daily writing retreats. I write 4:30-6:30 in the morning all by myself.

I have enjoyed the collective writing.
But if I were to organize something post-pandemic it would need to have firm commitments from everyone.

Life happens to us all, I get it.

But for me, to commit to doing a writing retreat would mean really focusing and not paying attention to anything outside.
Read 6 tweets
28 Nov
THREAD: A student (new to my methods) asked me what I did when I could not highlight.

Most people know I don’t mark my own books (nor the library’s!) but you can do with yours whatever you want.

Since I don’t mark my books, the highlighting and annotating methods I use ...
... may not work in the same way.

Since I prefer analog systems and do not mark books up, here are a few ways in which I take notes that still retain some of the characteristics of my strategies for printed materials.

I’ll outline them in separate tweets.
1) THE INDEX CARD METHOD:

Since I have used them since grade school, I often take notes of books on index cards.

I usually categorize by colour of said index card, unless I run out of color-coded ones in which case I use non-coloured ones, but with a 1/2” coloured plastic tab
Read 20 tweets

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