Ilya Shabanov Profile picture
Feb 24 14 tweets 8 min read
Every academic takes notes on literature.

But many struggle with new ideas or writer's block.

It won't happen to you, if you prepare your notes *right*.

Use this strategy: 👇🧵
The ingredients of a lit note:

- Summary of the relation to your research
- Authors' intentions
- Quotable sentence
- Tags & links to concepts
- Title with linked PDF
- Metadata

We'll use them to create the mentioned benefits.
I use @obsdmd, but other tools will work too.
@obsdmd 1. Summary

Most people summarize the content.
But why? It's in the abstract already!

Better: Critically describe the RELATION to YOUR reserach.

Point out what you find USEFUL and what needs improvement etc.

✅ Understand the paper's RELEVANCE to your research.
@obsdmd 2. The authors' intentions

Why was something published?
What problem solved?

Links the paper to a bigger problem/question/challenge.

✅ Understand the paper's CONTRIBUTION to the FIELD.
@obsdmd 3. Quotable

Imagine your FUTURE publication, where you briefly cited the one you are reading.

Write this sentence down as a "quotable".

Add 20 quotables together and your introduction chapter is half way done.

✅ Create READY-TO-USE sentences for your next publication.
@obsdmd 4. Connect with tags and links

Tags are "concepts".
A shared tag LINKS notes together in 2 steps.

Research is nothing but "connecting a problem to a solution".
To connect use links and tags.

✅ Uncovers NOVEL connections and generates new IDEAS.
@obsdmd ⚡️ Tags are a secret weapon in the creativity arsenal

You can use them to create new ideas on autopilot:
@obsdmd 5. Link the PDF to the title

Why? Hold CMD/CTRL and hover the link to see PDF.

DRILL from any link to its source only by moving the mouse.

Sparingly highlight definitions/insights in the PDF to see them right away.

✅ FASTEST way to find e.g. figures in primary sources.
@obsdmd ⚡️ If you arrange your notes in a visual fashion, this feature is invaluable.

Try this usecase for example:
@obsdmd 6. Metadata

Think of it as columns in an excel table of your papers.

This has countless usecases.
→ Pull references as DOIs or citations from a note
→ Sorting: e.g. by year or your personal relevance rating.

✅ Stay organized, create citations, statistics or overviews.
@obsdmd 7. The note itself

Your notes are the soil to plant links in.
Write them to create connections.

Store key findings SEPARATELY to reuse them in your writing.

Just highlighting PDFs does neither - skip it.

Use a system for your notes. Here is mine:
@obsdmd ⚡️ TEMPLATES will save you time doing all of the above.

- A template is a note with placeholders e.g. {{DATE}} for today's date.
- Placeholders get filled with data upon using the template.
- Built-in to most note taking apps.
@obsdmd Summary

► Summarize relevance not content
► Note authors intentions, understand the field
► Prep a ready to use sentence, publish fast
► Break notes down to concepts, make sense
► Smartly link and tag your notes, improve creativity
► Use a consistent template, save time
@obsdmd I can only show tiny bits of the whole system here on Twitter.

There is just too much to share.
But in March a massive online course for academics is coming.

Are you interested?

If so, join the newsletter for an exclusive offer to follow soon:
ilyashabanov.substack.com

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More from @Artifexx

Feb 22
Graphs of notes are a powerful research tool.

They generate ideas as you browse through your notes.

If you think it's just a "pretty graphic of my notes"...

...this tutorial will change your mind (and help your research):
👇🧵
First: What is a graph?

A graph is dots (one for each note) connected by lines (one for each link).

You might have seen "global knowledge graphs" like this image (i.e. all my notes in one graph).

It is like studying insects from a skyscraper. Hard to gain any insight.
A LOCAL graph visualizes only my open note's connections.

Showing notes I link to (1 step) and notes those notes link to (2 step).

e.g I am studying the FMRP protein (molecular biology).
Graph shows:

→ Its interaction partners (red)
→ Mechanisms it is related to (gray)
Read 15 tweets
Feb 20
Generating novel ideas is the currency of academia.

But very few people have a strategy for new ideas.

Do this, to create ideas on auto-pilot:
👇🧵
Creativity is connecting existing information in a novel way.

The unit of creativity therefore is the LINK.

Your notes are the soil where new links can grow.

Here is how to prepare the soil:

Unfortunately, having notes won't give new ideas.

You need new LINKS to generate new ideas.

But can we automatically generate links?

Yes we can – with TAGS.

A tag is a "label" you can stick to a note.

Adding them is often straght forward.
Read 10 tweets
Feb 19
After 10+ years building websites I wanted to study biology.

With a lot of effort I found the PERFECT lab.

But my instinct said: Not a match.

I was right.

My next mentor opened all doors for me and became a good friend.

Here is what I look for in a mentor or supervisor:
1. They listen

Humans love talking about themselves.
Asking questions is a gift to you.

✅ Asks questions about you, personally & professionally.
❌ Self-centered conversations

The perfect mentor asks and listens with interest.
⚡️ In our first conversation the PI who ran the lab asked me a lot about my motivations.

He showed genuine interest in me, despite my total lack of biology skills.

Reflecting back, the ideas I expressed then seem "silly".

Yet not once did he make me feel stupid.
Read 16 tweets
Feb 18
In the near future AI won't be limited to a mere conversation partner in the browser.

It will be deeply integrated into your PERSONAL content and tools.

If you feel uneasy about this, you're not alone.

Adapt or perish - here's my outlook:
You might have heard that Microsoft invested $10 Billion into ChatGPT.

Why?

A lot of Microsoft's business deals is text: Word, Outlook, OneNote...

Soon AI will be drafting your emails, documents etc - in YOUR style.

As AI gets to know us, our relation to content will change.
AI will be part of your search.

Search engines already know much more about you than you expect.

Most don't know it, but Google Analytics runs on ~56% of websites.

It transmits behaviour/search and uniquely links to your browser (even without google login).
Read 15 tweets
Feb 10
I reviewed over 50+ Zotero plugins.

Here are my top picks to supercharge your Zotero use.

Follow the thread or read the long version and watch the demo video in the post:
buff.ly/3JXQlHV
1. Translate PDFs into any language

Perfect for non-native speakers.
Translate abstract and title into any language with a single hotkey.

Highlight a section inside the PDF and instantly see the translation.

buff.ly/3DSorcE
2. Add Citation counts

Citation counts are great to identify impactful papers (all other factors being equal) or reviews.

Load citation counts and display them as a sortable column in Zotero.

buff.ly/40MncoU
Read 9 tweets
Feb 9
I asked AI what folk wisdom to help academics.
It came up with these meaningful and hillarious answers:
🤣

@OpenAcademics #AcademicChatter
@OpenAcademics "Deadlines come and go, but don't forget to take time to smell the roses."

Good advice in general. Too often do we forget that what matters is experience – in a century we will all be dead and our struggles rendered meaningless.

Enjoy life while it lasts.
@OpenAcademics "The greatest lessons in life come not from what you know, but from what you don't know"

Spoken like a true pirate Captain. Stepping out of the comfort zone when we get the chance - speak publically, teach a course we don't fully understand – all that, is food for courage.
Read 6 tweets

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