How I annotate books as a PhD student (simple and efficient)

A DEEP DIVE into what I do while reading - particularly academic books that I own a physical copy of. How I annotate, what the different coloured sticky notes mean, what I save for reference, what I do with the stickies when I'm done reading, etc. This is just what works for me and what I've been doing for the past year or two.
NOTE: These sticky tabs can leave a sticky residue on some books, so they are not advised for library books or books with glossy pages.
You can support my channel and get 20% off an annual subscription to the book summary app Shortform using my affiliate link: www.shortform.com/morganeua
ATTENTION PHD STUDENTS: I'm making content to support fellow PhD students this year. If you have questions, advice, or need support, fill out this anonymous form: forms.gle/t4SVHEjBhMXFkwH8A
✨BOOKS MENTIONED✨
"Alien Phenomenology" by Ian Bogost
"Down to Earth" by Bruno Latour
✨TIMESTAMPS✨
0:00 - intro
1:15 - how I annotated before
6:45 - intro to my new system
7:43 - sticky tabs
10:43 - a highlighter
11:13 - sticky notes and pen
12:13 - what I do after reading
15:25 - the end

[@renzo6173]

thanksss for sharing

[@AminWT]

Very insightful. Is that D&D 5E on the shelf?! 🤩

[@giddycarousel]

Love that Bogost book

[@simob7862]

I done highlighted and flagged tex in my books for a while all my University books I use index cards post it notes and writing ✍️ but I use friction pens and markers that can be removed if I need to. I also have a journal 📓 that normally aligns with my textbooks or book I am reading I read generally 15-20 pages and try to stick to reading a certain amount then reference and reflection and then a page of assignments and corresponding units or role play or live action placement.

[@liamwhalen]

Thank you. I'm still planning my education journey and hearing your explanations about note taking is a learning experience. I use Mendeley to manage my journal articles, but before watching your Zettelkasten videos I was a minimal notes guy. I can tell that your commitment to academic integrity has led to your current system, which is inspiring. I have not seen anything like this in my academic journey. I think you are living the new academic path. With the plethora of knowledge in existence, the sort of advanced knowledge management you demonstrate is a reasonable although arduous process to bring scholarship into existence.

[@morganeua]

Thanks for watching, thanks for "super thanking" and thanks for all the book recommendations you've given me! Does that mean that AFTER watching zettelkasten videos you now take more notes?? All of the origins of zettelkasten-like knowledge management systems I've found are from the mid-1900s. So, I think this is an old academic path and we've just forgotten how to organize our knowledge effectively? Maybe we've been spoiled by the instant searchability of the internet?

[@liamwhalen]

@@morganeua I've only had to write one research paper recently, and I had not seen your zettelkasten video yet. So, I have not started taking more notes. But I am figuring out how I will take more notes. As I've seen from your videos, having a good system in place that can exist through time and still be searchable and meaningful is a necessity. From watching your recent BookTube stats video, I can see how having the correct metadata in place makes a difference too. From personal experience, I know it is not possible to define a complete metadata in advance of a lifelong project. Studying ontologies and the basics of the semantic web, I've seen the difficulties created in developing a method of recording knowledge and keeping it organized. Not reinventing the wheel is a good aphorism to tend towards. I've no idea about the history/origins of knowledge management. Library and Information Science has a strong foundation of theory there, but it did not delve too deeply into its roots. I'm guessing PhDs in the field could say much more. I'm here for you resurrecting the ancient body of knowledge management into the computer era. Search has made some things easier, but it is also ephemeral and dependent on a variety of things. This video 'What Happened to Google Search' is a very good recap of the current siloing of the internet. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ammkgIKvo9Ogp7c. As an aspiring academic, I'm not sure I can place the foundation of my research at the whims of various internet systems. Having a local repository for my notes would make me feel less anxious.

[@marisol033]

@@morganeua I THINK THAT JUST BEING ABLE TO SEARCH SOMETHING ON THE WEB HAS DAMAGED OUR ABILITY TO QUESTION WHAT WE ARE READING. iNSTEAD WE JUST ACCEPT WHAT THE WEB PRESENTS AS A GOOD ENOUGH ANSWER. When in reality we should question our method of learning new topics. I am really enjoying your way of explaining things. I thought i was the only one who found my note taking a mess. . I now see that the majority of us struggle in silence.

[@jamesgannon8914]

Thank you!

[@marianabonina249]

i felt really dumb watching this video. you look and sound like a very clever person

[@DrTowerofterra]

Meaningful and instructive, you are killing the game as a PhD candidate! To all those that say "too many notes", I say "Psh!" Shout out to Bruno Latour and 'Laboratory life: The construction of scientific facts'. Keep going, Dr is around the corner ;)

[@morganeua]

Lol, psh, indeed! 😛

[@eugene_crane_uvu]

You know this is a good channel when someone drops Latour into the comments.

[@nerdingaround-bu7gu]

😊

[@paytenparfait5983]

I have been obsessed with your videos. Please make more like this!!

[@frousar]

Thanks for sharing, I love hearing people talk about their workflow!

[@morganeua]

Me too!

[@anna-viz]

Thank you for sharing your process!you are amazing! I am now trying to apply your system to my knowledge management approach and see what is working for me.

[@Cersya]

Thank you for sharing your process! Your videos are super helpful to me (a fellow PhD student) -- and you introduced me to Obsidian, which changed my life

[@morganeua]

I'm glad they're helpful! I'm going to make a series of videos this year where I get other PhD candidates on the channel to respond to my community's questions about doing a PhD. So, keep an eye out for a chance to anonymously ask questions in a Google form very soon! (or comment questions anywhere on my videos and I'll add them to the list!)

[@mageprometheus]

Thank you. Love and light.

[@TalesofaHobbyHopper]

Very helpful video. Thank you!

[@morganeua]

I'm glad it helped you! "Tales of a Hobby Hopper" is a great KZbin channel name! I know the life of too many hobbies :P

[@TalesofaHobbyHopper]

@@morganeua Lol, thank you

[@morningdewacademic]

Great system, thanks for sharing. I like how you showed how you've grown through your note-taking process. You can get sticky tabs that are in paper vs. plastic form.

[@morganeua]

Yeah, that's definitely going to be what I do when I run out!

[@laiscarraro9960]

I love your videos! I don't know why, but they make me motivated to do my master's stuff. please keep posting, thank you so much

[@morganeua]

Yay, that's awesome! Let me know if you have any specific video ideas that might motivate you more! I'm sure they'd help others too, then!

[@benjaminheil2864]

ok, you are amazing, i would pay for a Workshop with you.

[@valala2987]

That's really helpful, thank you for sharing. Even though I'm still just in my undergrad I've been having similar problems with my texts and It got to the point where I started printing texts multiple times just to be able to have more space for notes. This will save me so much time and money

[@morganeua]

Oh man, I wish I had better reading and notetaking practices in my undergrad! Good for you for figuring these things out now! It'll be so useful later, too!

[@Heyu7her3]

That's interesting, I hate annotations lol

[@ieltshongkong]

Thanks. It was actually an Obsidian video that first introduced me to you. I love this kind of stuff. Especially since I am applying for grad school and hope to get my Ph.D. one day.

[@morganeua]

Excellent! What program are you applying for? (Sorry if I've asked you in the past and forgot!)

[@ieltshongkong]

@@morganeua I was planning on studying digital education. Though I am thinking Teaching English as Second Language would be more practical for my current situation as an English Teacher in Hong Kong. So in my mind I think might do both then go on to get the Ph.D.. Though this might be the bipolar part of me talking.

[@geeksthename]

I like this approach a lot! I’ve alsodone something similar but in a less intentional way. i appreciate that you dont do your notes all at once. I feel pressure to complete it all in one sitting but often that’s not practical when I have sticky tabbed a whole book 😅

[@morganeua]

I don't know how intentional my system really is - it just sounds intentional cause I tried to articulate it for a video 😝 I'm sure if you also explained what you do for someone it would also sound like an intentional system! And yeah, lots of the books I read are way to big to finish extracting my notes in just one sitting!

[@DrEagleTalon]

Would love your take on Hegel, The Young Hegelians and Materialism vs Idealism in the context of a 18-19th century philosopher.

[@anthonywarnecke8260]

Would you use this method for making notes from a textbook? i'm an undergrad microbiology major so i know our notes will be vastly different but i was wondering if you have any textbooks you've taken notes from in this way 😁

[@trickster1030]

EBBAAA!!!!

[@erikaemmasyt]

I am just getting back into writing and previously think I have over complicated my system going to use the tips from this video going forward to hopefully be more productive

[@kristiharman2843]

I'm sorry if you've covered this before, but I'm wondering if you have a different technique for e-books or if you use something similar and if you have somewhere you like to read ebooks. Thank you!

[@effortlesszone]

Thanks!

[@morganeua]

Thank YOU!

[@jrfunk9718]

Excellent video! Thanks for sharing your experience, Morgan. Do you ever take quick notes while reading (“literature notes”, Sonke Ahrens) vs. tabbing the pages? Also, do you read and highlight digitally or only paper books? Your insights are very helpful!

[@morganeua]

Yes, sometimes! I used to use little 3x5 note cards as a bookmark and keep my notes on there, referencing the page number where I had the thought/found the quote. But it is nice having a large sticky note stuck right on the page where I had the thought, so that's what I've been doing lately. I do highlight on my digital books. I find the Kindle system for highlighting not great... I prefer to pull a pdf onto my iPad into the "Notability" app and highlight. I can even use a split screen to highlight the pdf on one side and type/write notes on the other side.

[@jrfunk9718]

@@morganeua I’ve been a digital reader recently but am trying your annotation tips on a couple paper books I’m reading now. I hadn’t thought to use Notability in that way and will definitely try that. Thanks so much for your reply!

[@redhoundoom]

Wish I annotated this video, because this is my 2nd time watching it lol

[@knw-seeker6836]

Very cool explanation Do you have any advice on preparing for university exams?

[@vrixphillips]

lol "too many notes/basically regurgitating the book" meanwhile I essentially highlighted all of Aristotle's Poetics.... so yeah, this was helpful. You didn't tab nearly as much as I tend to. I dog ear a LOT of pages in a book, but thanks for FINALLY giving me a good system for using stickies!

[@worthylafollette9378]

This was a great video. Thank you. I am very good at organizing data and searching it once something becomes digital - but suffer when it comes from capturing data from text sources. While I am not going to advance academically from the Masters in Interactive Intelligence I am completing this year, I have too much curiosity to stop learning about cognition and learning. Truly appreciate your techniques and focus. Small request - I'm a book geek - any chance for a snap of just your bookshelves? Also - one last edit - your approach to note taking and eBooks? I recall you like a specific Rakuten device - but not sure if that provides full coverage or fully describes your approach.

[@morganeua]

Love the bookshelf snap idea! Maybe I'll do an "academic bookshelf" walkthrough style video... For now, though, if you shoot me an email through my email address in my about section of KZbin, I'll send you some pics! And as for ebooks, I just replied to another commenter about this, so I'll paste that here, too! - I do highlight on my digital books. I find the Kindle system for highlighting not great. You can take notes on highlights, but they're hard to look at in one long list for me... I prefer to pull a pdf onto my iPad into the "Notability" app and highlight. I can even use a split screen to highlight the pdf on one side and type/write notes on the other side. Lastly, congrats on your Master's! And thanks for your support of the channel! 😊

[@cathfinlay7386]

Morgan, I just love your videos!! Thank you so much! I was wondering if you could explain how you put these notes in obsidian? For example, do you have one note on the whole book, with each of your notes in that one note, or do you create potentially 50 different notes for each point that you tagged?

[@morganeua]

I have one note for the book and I toss all my ideas/quotes/etc into that one note at first. Then I go through and turn those ideas into individual notes to populate my zettelkasten and connect between the ideas! I also always backlink to the source note so I know in the future where the ideas came from.

[@user-cx9qs3sc5x]

Thank you for these videos. I will soon be a PhD student and looking at your system is really making me motivated to read and write (p.s. I hope it stays that way .hehe). I was first introduced to you by your Obsidian video and I am looking forward to using it. Now I have to catch up on all your videos :) I do realize that you annotate books. What about journals and articles? Can you back up Obsidian? I would hate that you lose everything if something was to happen. Btw, do you use Notion?

[@morganeua]

Because Obsidian is just a file folder on your computer, you can back that up however you like. I back mine up in Google drive! I only use notion for planning my KZbin videos, but I've day id like to migrate that to Obsidian, too. And snowing articles - I usually do that on my computer just using Adobe Acrobat and highlighting important bits, or on my iPad in notability so I can highlight and take notes by hand in the margins!

[@MrDa47ve]

Excellent! Using sticky notes to summarize a complex idea. I like it!

[@BrianThomas]

Very insightful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in addition to what wasn't helpful. Quesito for you. In your opinion do you feel that A.I. can help with your dissertation? I don't mean by having the machine write it for you in any unethical or sketchy way.

[@morganeua]

Yeah, one way I've tried using it is to ask ChatGPT for definitions of different academic terminology or turns. Or I'll ask it who the biggest theorists are in a field, then I'll go search for them on Google scholar. So, you can kind of use it in a similar way to Wikipedia - like a starting point for research which you can validate in more legitimate places!

[@davidschmidt5507]

I have metal tabs that work great, are light, and really reusable! No longer need to buy the plastic ones over and over

[@morganeua]

Metal?! Do they pinch the page instead of stick??

[@davidschmidt5507]

@@morganeua Yes and they don't dent the page. I've had a positive experience so far.

[@ndbyers23]

You make such great videos! I have a question regarding different formats of books. Do you ever read ebooks or listen to audiobooks? I tend to use ebooks and audio for fiction, and buy nonfiction books so I can reference notes more easily. I do occasionally highlight ebooks. (Kindle) in places that are important to me in different ways. Would love to hear what you do. Cheers, Nanci

[@lsolesen]

Thanks for sharing. How do you move the knowledge into your zettelkasten system in Obsidian after annotating your book?

[@morganeua]

I JUST posted a video showing what I do when taking book notes in obsidian, so maybe that could help! It's a "full Notetaking session" video 😊

[@karenandy2943]

What did you choose in your thesis

[@MatthewTeeters404]

Loving the "history of note-taking" examination. Also love Latour and phenomenology, so thanks for the reading recommendations. I've just started zetteling, but I use Rocketbook Cloud Cards where you use the sticky notes. I keep them as several bookmarks as I read. Then I can take a pic and have it OCR'd and sent to a folder in the cloud. From there I can just add it to my Obsidian. Cloud Cards are just like 3x5 cards that can be reused again and again, but they also come in packs of 40, so there are plenty to add to a book when reading.

[@morganeua]

Wow, those cards sound amazing!! I have to look into that because I use 3x5 cards all the time and reusable ones would be awesome!

[@patrickscholl8507]

Very educational video. Which app do you use on your iPad for the Cornell Method?

[@morganeua]

I use Notability!

[@EmiWoodScully]

This is so interesting and much needed since I am starting to write my dissertation right now. Can you please tell me the full title and author of the book behind you… It is a large hardcover titled “noise”… thank you!

[@morganeua]

"Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment" by Cass R. Sunstein, Daniel Kahneman, and Olivier Sibony I haven't read it yet, but it's by the Nobel Prize winner Kahneman who also wrote "Thinking Fast and Slow"!

[@EmiWoodScully]

@@morganeua thank you so much! This really aligns with my dissertation topic!

[@morganeua]

@@EmiWoodScully no way, that's so cool! What's your dissertation topic??

[@marcfruchtman9473]

The premise of that book (as you describe), "Alien Phenomenology"... seems pretty decent as well as fairly logical. I would even submit that as humans, we humans can only understand what things are "like" for other humans.. we can't actually experience the same exact thing because how a person's brain converts the environmental signals that they experience is likely different for each individual. An Alien would perceive the color red as something other than what I would see... and I submit, probably different than someone human might perceive it as well. I don't usually take notes when trying to enjoy a book... but for academia I generally use a word processor as I read.

[@morganeua]

It's a pretty enjoyable read, too, this book. Which is why I like it! There's even pictures 😝

[@eugene_crane_uvu]

How do your colleagues respond to your social media fame?

[@morganeua]

Haha, they're into it. I have one friend who really benefits from the videos because she's also using a zettelkasten for her research. And my supervisor is my biggest fan, she's always sharing my channel :P

[@Caroline_Creative]

The earth as political actor thing made me think of NK Jeminison’s Broken Earth trilogy. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy, and if you read the whole trilogy I think it is a fictional example of not considering the earth as a political actor in action

[@morganeua]

I've read that trilogy! It's fantastic and that's an awesome connection. Thanks for pointing it out!

[@elise_.y]

Do you have a video on how to set up obsidian for literature notes? Do you still use the system in your phd notes video and if so, do you just make a book note with a link to the bibliography note and then linked ideas within that note? I want to start using obsidian for my dissertation too but I’m scared the learning curve will be too high 😢

[@morganeua]

I was also scared the learning curve would be too much, but I didn't have a good system anyway, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try :P I no longer use a bibliography note, I just make a note for each book and use that as the connection point for notes that reference that book. So, for Alien Phenomenology, I have a note called [[bogost-ian-alien-phenomenology]] or whatever. And then I fill that up with all my thoughts and quotes and everything. And then I turn each of those thoughts into its own [[note-based-on-an-idea]]. And every time I make a note that is related to Alien Phenomenology, I'll reference the source note: [[bogost-ian-alien-phenomenology]] Hard to explain in text, so maybe I need to make more videos about it :P

[@elise_.y]

@@morganeua yes that makes total sense! I'll try and do that too, because im so used to title my notes as terms rather than ideas and i think the latter (like you're doing) would work better in obsidian! Other videos would be greatly appreciated though!! 🥰

[@keesha7767]

Hello first I started color code it goes like this Romantic scenes ❤️ Scene or Hot monmetos 🧡 Funny Monmetos 💛 💚 Favorite phrases. 💙Sad scene or moment And today I hold onto Suraya and write her my Book of the Mockingjay, it's true, I already feel the book is more mine, it's something very beautiful, I've been evicted, I have everything on my mind because she's suffering from psychology with Mockingjay

[@Leo-yn5fx]

thank god for ipads and styluses. I could never do this to my books lmfao!

[@amandahuber6639]

I am an undergrad so i don't quite know how the PhD program works. How are you able to work on school full time? Do you have a side job, or are you paid through a grant? Perhaps you work as a teacher too? Dedicating my time fully to research and school is my dream but how is this possible?

[@morganeua]

Hi! When I started my PhD in Canada, I was fully funded and part of that funding was fulfilled by work placements. So, I had to work as a TA for the first 5 years of my program to receive my full funding. It covered my tuition and then a bit, but is not quite enough to live off of. So, I have also held various part time jobs throughout all of my degrees as well. I also received a government loan for my undergrad, which I haven't had to pay off yet because I'm still in school. Other people apply to scholarships and grants which can provide A LOT of money for your studies if you get one, but I went the work placement route!

[@amandahuber6639]

@@morganeua Thanks! btw I love circus arts too, I took classes in trapeze, silks, pole dance for fun. Now I am into burlesque and vaudeville which also has a fascinating history. I appreciate all your circus related videos and book recommendations.

[@alkmcebeci5294]

I am a sociology student and I love that you know Latour! I think I saw one of your notes in another video about Actor Network Theory. It said ANT but I wasnt sure if its the same ANT :D Gonna read the alien phenomenology now, thanks :)

[@morganeua]

It's the same ANT! :P I find ANT to be a really accessible methodology for my field, which is very interdisciplinary. And Latour explains it so well in Reassembling the Social when he has a conversation with a student - I've gotta reread that book for sure.

[@FGabarrot]

Great video. For what it worth, I really enjoy your content. If I may, I believe you should take a look to the video entitled "The bookmark you takes note on" by the channel Verbal To Visual, here, on KZbin. It may (or may not) inspire you.

[@morganeua]

Ah, thank you! I'm watching it now! I actually used to - and sometimes still do - use notecards as a bookmark and make all my notes on there as I go. Right now I'm liking the sticky note method cause the note is actually on the place where it's from and I don't get a big stack of note cards building in my book and ruining it. But I like this folded paper method. That's nice. Especially just as a way to get more out of the book while reading, and aid my memory of the book, rather than for coherent notes to take later. I also love his pen holder! 😮

[@cyberneticsiren]

Hey I don’t know if you’re aware but a lot of deleuze scholars really hate alien phenomenology and I’m not really sure why? Idk if u have a take on that? Cool af to see someone else who’s heard of it lmao

[@morganeua]

Honestly, a lot of the scholars I've encountered dislike object-oriented ontology in general, but I really enjoy it. I'll keep an eye out for Deleuze scholars talking about it, that's interesting. I'm sure Bogost has some response written somewhere 😛

[@JamesJoyce12]

pretty sure that is not what Idealism is

[@equinnknox]

It is, in fact, a definition of idealism as a branch of philosophy. From the OED: “(sense 2 of the noun) Philosophy any of various systems of thought in which the objects of knowledge are held to be in some way dependent on the activity of mind. Often contrasted with realism” Maybe check first next time!

[@effortlesszone]

Too many notes? Nah. If it piqued your interest now, you'll circle back to it some time in the near or distant future.

[@morganeua]

I completely agree! And thank you for the "Super Thanks" on your other comment! It means a lot and really helps as I support myself through the end of my PhD! 😊

[@effortlesszone]

@@morganeua I discovered your videos almost exactly a year ago and have been enjoying them all along. A bit of support is the least I can do. Good luck with your PhD! (I also love that it's about juggling.)

[@uiliumpowell4684]

Just get it over with and study where everyone gets their ontology: The Buddha's teaching.