Research Note at a Glance

Above is an example of my research note (open images in a new window for better view).

In the middle you see the title that summarizes the note (it doubles as the file name for the note), the citation and links to the source, a searchable field to enter my comments, and the text from the source (under the “Note” heading). At the bottom, several tables categorize notes linked to the current note.

The linked notes are a key Obsidian feature allowing for the Zettelkasten notetaking method. Links are created by encasing the title of the note in double square brackets: [[note title here]]. The “live preview” feature in Obsidian hides this formatting code for easier reading.

On the left you see Properties - Obsidian fields that contain data about the note. Some fields are created automatically - creation and modification date, citation data (autor, title, etc). In other fields I enter tags, index terms (people, places, events, institutions), links to related notes, and, if necessary, a start and end date for the event the note refers to.

On the right you see the Graph view that allows me to browse the linked notes and trace networks among people, events, institutions, and artworks.

Here is the same note with navigation tabs visible:

On the left you see my folder structure, recommended by the Obsidian community: nine folders for my research, analysis, and writing, and a “meta” folder. Starting each folder number with a leading “0” ensures correct sorting in case you have more than nine research folders in the root directory down the road. I put research notes in the top folder in my Obsidian vault, “01 research.” In the unnumbered “meta” folder, I save all supplementary files, including templates for importing and processing Zotero annotations.

On the right, you see shortcuts - a directory that helps me to organize research for separate projects. Here I create tables of contents and keep track of tasks, searches, and charts (tables, graphs, and diagrams) specific to each project.

On the far left, you see a Ribbon containing buttons that automate my work:

While it is possible to run any command from the command palette (the bottom button) or via keyboard shortcuts, most users find buttons more convenient. Buttons allow me to create and link different categories of notes with one click.

Not all of these features will be useful for everyone - notetaking is a personal practice. But many people found various aspects of this setup useful. I aim to explain the purpose of each feature and the programming behind it, in case people want to use parts of this setup for their own research.