Research Management Skill

Manage research and notes in Evernote using the Capture-Organize-Retrieve pattern.

Phase 1: CAPTURE (Save Information)

Create a Note

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_create_note({
  title: "Research: [Topic] - YYYY-MM-DD",
  content: "## Summary\n\nKey findings here.\n\n## Details\n\n...",
  notebookGuid: "<notebook-guid>",  // optional
  tags: ["research", "topic", "2025-01"]
})

Content Formatting

Evernote accepts Markdown which is converted to ENML:

markdown

# Heading 1
## Heading 2

**Bold** and *italic* text

- Bullet list
- Another item

1. Numbered list
2. Second item

> Blockquote

`inline code`

    code block

[Link text](https://example.com)

Save Web Research

When saving research from web sources:

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_create_note({
  title: "[Article Title] - Web Clip",
  content: `## Source
[Original URL](https://example.com/article)

## Summary
Key points from the article...

## Quotes
> Important quote from the source

## My Notes
Personal observations and thoughts...`,
  tags: ["web-clip", "topic", "source-site"]
})

Phase 2: ORGANIZE (Structure Knowledge)

List Notebooks

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_list_notebooks({})

Returns all notebooks with:

•GUID (for API operations)
•Name
•Stack (folder grouping)
•Note count

Create Notebook

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_create_notebook({
  name: "Project Alpha Research",
  stack: "Projects"  // optional folder grouping
})

List Tags

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_list_tags({})

Update Note

Move notes between notebooks or update tags:

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_update_note({
  guid: "<note-guid>",
  title: "Updated Title",
  content: "Updated content...",
  notebookGuid: "<new-notebook-guid>",
  tags: ["updated", "tags"]
})

Phase 3: RETRIEVE (Find Information)

Basic Search

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_search_notes({
  query: "meeting notes project alpha",
  maxResults: 20,
  includeContent: true
})

Advanced Search Syntax

Evernote supports powerful search operators:

javascript

// Notes with specific tag
mcp__evernote__evernote_search_notes({
  query: "tag:project-alpha"
})

// Notes in specific notebook
mcp__evernote__evernote_search_notes({
  query: "notebook:Research important findings"
})

// Notes created in last week
mcp__evernote__evernote_search_notes({
  query: "created:week-1"
})

// Combine operators
mcp__evernote__evernote_search_notes({
  query: "tag:research notebook:Work created:month-1 machine learning"
})

Search Operators Reference

Operator	Example	Description
`tag:`	`tag:work`	Notes with specific tag
`-tag:`	`-tag:archive`	Notes without tag
`notebook:`	`notebook:Personal`	Notes in notebook
`created:`	`created:day-7`	Created in timeframe
`updated:`	`updated:week-1`	Updated in timeframe
`intitle:`	`intitle:meeting`	Search title only
`source:`	`source:web.clip`	From specific source
`todo:`	`todo:true`	Notes with checkboxes

Get Full Note

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_get_note({
  guid: "<note-guid>",
  includeContent: true
})

Organization Best Practices

Notebook Structure

text

Notebooks/
├── Inbox/              # Quick capture, process later
├── Projects/
│   ├── Project Alpha/
│   ├── Project Beta/
│   └── Archive/
├── Reference/
│   ├── Technical/
│   ├── Personal/
│   └── Templates/
└── Journal/

Tagging Strategy

Use consistent tag prefixes:

•project-* - Project names
•type-* - Note type (meeting, research, idea)
•status-* - Status (active, done, review)
•YYYY-MM - Date tags for temporal queries

Note Title Format

text

[Type] Topic - YYYY-MM-DD

Examples:
[Meeting] Product Roadmap Review - 2025-01-15
[Research] Machine Learning Best Practices - 2025-01-10
[Idea] New Feature Concept - 2025-01-08

Health Check

Verify Evernote connection:

javascript

mcp__evernote__evernote_health_check({})

Best Practices

Do

•Use consistent notebook and tag structure
•Add date tags for temporal searching
•Include source links in research notes
•Write summaries at the top of long notes
•Use headings to structure content
•Tag liberally for discoverability

Don't

•Create deeply nested notebook hierarchies
•Use tags inconsistently
•Skip the summary on long research notes
•Store sensitive credentials in notes
•Let the Inbox pile up unprocessed