If you have a smartphone or a tablet, you can record conversations with others, record voice memos that contain ideas about your project, save video, take photos of sources you find in the periodical room, and surf the Web to locate sources. Most smartphone and tablet operating systems provide access to “apps” (or applications), often at no or low cost, that allow you to collect and organize information in the same way you would on a laptop or desktop computer.

As you save information with these tools, keep your work well organized. Use descriptive names, save work in folders or albums, and include notes about where and when you found the information. Talk with other writers about the apps they’ve found useful, and if they’re free, try them out yourself.