Notetaking in non-academic settings: a review

There is considerable research on notetaking in academic settings but relatively little of it in non-academic ones. This paper reviews the effects of notetaking in legal situations, counselling and interviewing, and assesses the usefulness of notetaking as a memory aid for older people and as a prospective memory device for brain-injured persons. The results suggest that: notetaking has no significant effect on recall in ‘real-life’ jury situations; there is some evidence that notetaking by counsellors in counselling sessions might be harmful for clients; there is some evidence that notetaking in interviews can reduce bias in decision making; there is some evidence that notetaking is helpful for older persons; and that too little research has been conducted on the use of notetaking as a device for aiding the prospective memory for brain-injured persons to reach any firm conclusions. The general limitations of the research are reviewed and implications for future work considered. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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