1. Yung-Hsiang Lu Purdue University
Design Notebook
Yung-Hsiang Lu
Purdue University

2. Why to Use Notebooks?
Students think they are acquiring knowledge from others (books, professors, papers ...). Thus, they do not think taking notes is needed.
Researchers create new knowledge. If they do not take notes, the work is completely lost.
Many important discoveries occur because researchers notice small discrepancies.
If you want to be a successful researcher, you must take notes with details.

3. Additional Reasons for Notes
You need to provide evidence of your work in some situations, such as
Your manager needs to know who deserves a good raise
If two or more people are involved in a dispute of efforts and accomplishments, your notes will be the evidence
Taking detailed notes is an indication of professional skills.

4. What Should be Recorded?
The notes should contain enough details so that readers can trace the history of your progress.
Every page should have year-month-date.
Every meeting should be recorded, including the names of the attendees, the topics, and conclusions, the action lists ...
Before you do any work, write down why you want to do it and how you know it is successful
Details, details, details

6. Date

7. Activity

8. Names

9. Activity

10. To Do

11. Drawing

12. Common Mistakes "I will take notes after I finish the task"
WRONG. You will forget most details.
"Taking notes wastes time. I can do more work if I do not waste time writing notes."
WRONG. You will forget the details and repeat some work. You waste much more time.
"I will write after I know it works."
WRONG. You should record things that do not work so that you (and readers) do not repeat them.

13. Common Mistakes (2) "My professor knows the answers."
WRONG. If your professor knows the answers, you are not doing research.
"If nobody else knows my work, I keep my job."
WRONG. You will be fired within a month.
"If I keep details in my notebooks, someone will steal my ideas."
WRONG. The real risk is that you forget the details. It is extremely unlikely that anyone steals your ideas.

14. NOBODY WILL STEAL YOUR IDEAS.

15. The most innovative people will tell you "Nobody will steal your ideas".

16. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Should I use one notebook for all projects or one notebook per project? A: Definitely one notebook per project. Q: Should I use a paper or an online notebook? A: Each has advantages and disadvantages. An online notebook is easy to search and share. A paper notebook is easy to draw; also, a paper notebook needs no battery and takes no time to wake up (or boot). You may keep both.

17. Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Q: If I use a paper notebook, what should I do if I have something from computers? A: You can print it on paper and glue the paper to your paper notebook. Q: Who will read my notebooks? A: Yourself and your team members. Q: How much note should I take? A: As many details as possible. One to two pages for every hour would be a good approximation.

18. Give your notebook to another person and ask the person to explain to you what you have done.