Writing for ResearchInternal writing can be informal (Image: Flickr , by Emily Logue 2006)
summaries of literature, notes of bright ideas, lists of jobs to do, and the further plans
you need to make because the initial plans were never enough.
Much internal writing is quite informal, being done for a very small readership,
sometimes the research team, sometimes just yourself. It can be creative and
adventurous. I use case studies, for instance, to think aloud about theoretical issues,
bouncing concepts speculatively off the concrete detail of the case. I wouldn’t publish
them that way. Similarly, I use my notes on articles or books to argue with the author,
not just record what she says.
The important thing is to make internal writing as pithy and usable as you can. If
recording data or decisions, then you are particularly careful to make the record
accurate. Try to reduce repetition. When I’m reading books or journal articles, I make a
full bibliographical record the first time I make any notes – this saves a lot of frustration
later. (I do this by hand on 5” x 8” cards, the archaeological remains of an ancient
computer-based system; I now have thousands.)
Internal writing is what accounts for the legendary chaos in a researcher’s office or
workstation while a project is underway. Keep as much of it as you can without getting
buried; you do, often, have to refer back. Some of this will cumulate to become part of
the next genre, summative writing. You can throw out most of the clutter when the
project is disbanded - though you are required by ethics protocols to keep key records,
e.g. of raw observations, for a fixed number of years.