Finding excellent sources of information means nothing if you don't do anything with the information you discover. You can use various note-taking methods to make the final portion of the process, be it a paper, presentation, speech, etc., much easier.
Remember, as you compare the information from your found sources, you're looking for common themes that are uncovered or main points that keep getting repeated. These are items you might want to include in your final product. AND REMEMBER! If doing something persuasive, always look at the opposite side of the argument and come up with sources of information that can prove that topic wrong.
In the note card method, you use note cards to collect the information that you have found throughout your research. On a single note card you record single sentences, statements, or even direct quotations from your found sources of information.
For example, the note card below comes from someone researching for a speech that attempts to convince their audience of the need for more funding for counseling services on college campuses. Note the different parts of the card.
As you can see, the card is categorized with a theme, and includes the page number, and where the info comes from. The note card method allows you to put notecards with similar themes or categories together from your various sources of information, creating a rough outline of your project that you can quickly edit and rearrange before any actual writing is done.
You can adapt this method to suit your needs. Some may print out articles and highlight in distinct colors the different concepts or subjects that arise. Others may just take notes on all the statements that jump out at them
Remember, for any sources that you gather information from, it is important to also create a card that has that source's citation. This will make writing your citations and reference pages MUCH easier. Below is the example citation card for the previous card. Note that at the bottom is the quick source notation used in the card above.
The Research Synthesis Matrix is similar to the note card method but is done electronically. Instructions with an example can be found below.