Save the entire article into a digital file. Create a research folder on a personal storage device and whenever you find an article you like, save a copy. Having immediate and constant access to the material not only helps you remember sources, it can also be used to double-check quote accuracy and documentation information.
Print out material taken from hard copies of books and articles. When using a book, printing the copyright, cover page and the entire chapter where the information appears makes it easy to remember each source. If your research project is very large, organize printed materials into labeled folders so you can find what you need quickly.
Write on one side of a note card any pertinent documentation information, being sure to follow the style guidelines of your discipline. Usually this includes book, article or chapter titles; the names of authors and editors; edition numbers, city where the work was published, publisher, date of publication and the inclusive pages. On the back of each card, write direct quotes, paraphrases and summaries that will go into the paper.
Create a working bibliography. To save time later, use your style guide as a reference and type or write the information that will be needed to later cite each source, suggests author Cheryl Glenn in her book "The Harbrace Guide to Writing." For an Internet source, helpful information would be the names of the website and sponsoring agency, the names of authors or editors, the URL and the dates of publication, updates and access.
Keep track of how you will use each source in an annotated bibliography. While the documentation strategies are similar to those used on note cards and in a working bibliography, there is one major difference. In an annotated bibliography, you will include comments that will help you remember the source, such as a brief summary, a description of how you or others might use the source and its effectiveness.
Double-check that each citation has a corresponding works-cited entry and vice versa. Start at the beginning of the paper and whenever you see a citation, flip to the works-cited page. Confirming that there is an entry for each source by placing a check next to each helps researchers remember to use and cite sources.