Click on the tabs (left) to see the pros and cons of different ways of organising your literature search.

Pile of papers

Pros

Good for instant access with small numbers of articles.

Cons

Difficult to manage large number of resources; need careful annotation; difficult to find individual items of information; only available where kept; difficult to use for e-resources.

X

Organising in folders by subject

Pros

Good for instant access to larger number of items.

Cons

Difficulties when items belong in more that one category.

X

Electronic storage

Pros

Instant access; available via any internet connection; use tags to index, bookmarks etc.

Cons

Difficult to use for print and media resources not available online; limited customisation; limited citation links.

X

Electronic storage, bibliographic software

Pros

Can be used for all media types; available via any internet connection using web options; automatic indexing, sorting, file storage, additional notes; direct connection to word processor to create citations; reference lists; fully customisable.

Cons

Web options have limited function - so if using these, you need to plan ahead.

X