- Level:
- Advanced
- Lessons:
- 11 Lessons
Organizing your Research Notes
Use the Codex to store research notes and reference materials for easy access while writing.
- Reading Time
- approx. 5 min
For genres like non-fiction, historical fiction, or hard sci-fi, accuracy is essential. This recipe teaches you how to turn your books, articles, interviews and more into distinct Codex entries. As always, having them in your Codex, makes sure both you and your AI assistant work from the same information and facts.
This recipe focuses on just organizing your sources and can be used even if you don’t use AI.
Why do this?
AI models can invent facts. By providing a library of verifiable sources, you ground the AI responses with your details.
Referencing single sources over large, generic research documents, gives the AI more precise information. This is also more cost-effective and avoid relying on the AI’s training data.
Separating research from your creative worldbuilding (characters, fictional lore) in different custom categories keeps your Codex tidy.
The research features of the Codex allow you to link up original sources with your own notes, quotes, and citations all in one place. This makes it easier to verify details later.
The Setup
First, you’ll need to prepare your project to store all your research. Don’t worry, this is a one-time setup!
Custom Categories
First, set up custom Codex categories for your research. You may have only one, and call it ‘Research’, or multiple (e.g. ‘Historical Sources’, ‘Scientific Papers’), depending on the scale of your notes.
In the Codex, click the ⚙ and select Custom Categories .
Click + New to create a category called “Research” or something similar.
Associate it with a memorable tag. This tag will automatically file all your research entries into this category.
Custom Details
Custom details will allow you to attach additional meta data your research, separating the main notes from quotes, citations, etc. To set up your custom details:
Go to Codex Settings ( ⚙ ) > Custom Details .
Click + New Detail .
You may wish to set up the following custom details for your research:
- Source Type (Type: Dropdown, Options: Book, Article, Website, etc.)
- Key Takeaways (Type: Text, AI Context: Always include)
- Direct Quotes (Type: Text, AI Context: Always include)
- Citation (Type: Text, AI Context: Never include)
Adding a New Source
Follow this process each time you add a new piece of research:
Create a new Codex entry by clicking + New Entry . Choose a type that fits the source. For historical figures, you might use Character; for cities, Location; for events, Lore. If in doubt, the Other type works well.
Name your entry. A consistent format helps mark it as a reference, for example: REF: “The role of DNA in forensic science” (2023).
Add the category tag. In the Tags/Labels section, add the source tag you created (see above). The entry will now be filed in your “Research” category.
Add aliases for easy reference. In the Aliases/Nicknames section, add keywords your source covers. For a book about Art Heists, aliases could be “heist”, “mona lisa”, and “Museum”. This allows you to reference the entire source by typing a related topic.
Use the Add Details button to add all missing details and fill in the source information you prepared in the setup phase.
The Description Box
As with fiction-focussed Codex entries, you could include all of your information in the description box, and not worry about Codex fields. This recipe, however, focuses on using Custom Details because they give you three powerful advantages:
- Cost Control: You only send the AI what it needs (Key Takeaways), not your entire library of notes.
- AI Precision: Giving the AI a concise summary leads to more focused and relevant output.
- Better Organization: It separates your private notes (like citations and links) from the AI’s context, keeping everything tidy.
If you want to include all of the information in the Codex for easy access, use the notes tab.
Creating a Topic Hub with Relations
Have multiple sources on one subject? You can bundle them using Relations.
Create a new Codex entry (of type Other) and name it “TOPIC: [Name]”. e.g. TOPIC: Forensic Methods.
Go to the Relations tab and link all your individual source entries on that topic.
Now you can either reference a specific detail with an alias or get a broad overview by referencing the hub to pull in key takeaways from all linked sources.
Case Studies
Case Study 1: Crime Novel
A writer wants authentic forensic procedures for their detective thriller. They find an article on DNA analysis.
Name: REF: “The role of DNA in forensic science” (2023)
Type: Lore
Tags: source
Aliases: DNA analysis, forensic evidence, touch DNA
Source Type: Academic Article
Description: Parts of text from your reference.
Key Takeaways:
- DNA profiling uses STR analysis to create unique genetic fingerprints.
- Specialized techniques can analyze degraded DNA from old evidence or identify male-specific DNA in mixed samples.
- Scientists can now estimate age, identify body fluids, predict physical appearance, and use family tree databases to connect suspects to evidence…
Citation: (Not visible to AI) International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2023…
The entry can then be pulled up like this:
My detective has a degraded DNA sample from a cold case. Using facts from forensic evidence, write dialogue where the scientist explains how new techniques can create a prediction of the suspect’s appearance.
Case Study 2: Non-Fiction Art Heists
An author is writing about the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa.
Name: REF: “The Mona Lisa Vanishes” (2023)
Type: Lore
Tags: source
Aliases: Mona Lisa theft, Vincenzo Peruggia, Louvre heist 1911
Source Type: Book
Description: Parts of text from your reference.
Key Takeaways:
- The Mona Lisa was relatively unknown before the 1911 heist made it famous.
- The thief, Vincenzo Peruggia, was a former Louvre employee who hid in a broom closet overnight.
- Security was minimal, and police wrongly expected a master criminal…
Citation: (Not visible to AI) The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day…
You can then use this entry to generate content like so:
Write an opening paragraph for my chapter on the Mona Lisa theft. Focus on the surprising simplicity of the crime, based on the information provided.
Common Pitfalls & Solutions
The AI’s responses are vague and my costs are high
Cause: Putting all your research into the main Description box sends a large, unfocused block of text to the AI. This may cause the AI to struggle to find the most relevant facts.
Solution: Use a Key Takeaways custom detail to give the AI a concise, targeted summary of need-to-know facts. Keep your longer, more detailed notes in the Notes tab for your own reference. This improves AI focus and reduces costs. If you have quotes you wish to reference, create a Quotes detail.
My linked entry isn’t providing context to the AI
Cause: You’ve likely used the Codex Reference custom detail type. This creates a clickable link for you, the writer, but does not pull the linked entry’s information into the AI’s context.
Solution: To include another entry’s information for the AI, you must use the Relations tab. This is the correct way to connect Codex entries so the AI can see them together.
This setup feels too complicated for my project
Cause: You may be building a complex system with multiple categories and details for only a handful of research sources.
Solution: Match the system’s complexity to your project’s needs. If you only have a few sources, a single Codex entry named “Research Notes” with key facts in the Description might be enough. This advanced recipe is most powerful for projects with a significant research component.
This lesson was taught by:
Kate
Based in the UK, Kate has been writing since she was young, driven by a burning need to get the vivid tales in her head down on paper… or the computer screen.