How to Do Efficient Research

Have you ever been doing research and can’t remember where you found a quote or a certain piece of information? You might even know what book it’s in but you have to look through hundreds of pages. What do you do?

I’ll explain how I do my research. As someone who does research quite a bit, I need to be efficient. I should point out that God has gifted me with an amazing memory so I have an advantage on most people. Regardless, I think that my method of research will be helpful to others.

For this example, I’m going to use a book that I read about a week ago. It’s called Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith by Peter Gillquist. It’s about some Protestant pastors who decided to make their own church based on early Church writings. Eventually about three quarters of them joined the Eastern Orthodox Church. If I had to give a comparison, it’s the Eastern Orthodox equivalent of Scott and Kimberley Hahn’s Catholic book Rome Sweet Home. This is beside the point. The point is that I read the book for research and wanted to get the most out of.  Here is how I do my research:

The book Becoming Orthodox – the object of our case study

When we read a book, we all use a bookmark, don’t we? For every book I read, I use a cue card.

A cue card

I will have a pen with me and each time I read something that I might reference later, I mark the page on the cue card and write a few words on what this page covers.

Notes on the cue card

Since this book is a non-Catholic book, I record every significant reference to the Catholic Church on the back of the card. I typically write fewer words to go with the page references if any at all.

Notes on the back of the cue card

After I’ve not this, I just leave the cue card in the front cover of the book when I put it onto my bookshelf.

The card stays in the book

With the important information on the cue card in the book, it’s good for a quick reference. If I’m trying to remember a quote or piece of information a year later, I’ll be able to track it down quicker.

The book goes back on the shelf with the cue card

I hope this helps with those interested in how to do efficient research.  This will certainly speed up your research later on when you need to find a reference.