Internet and Dictionary Research on the 13th of June '12

On the 13th of June '12, I did a research on my first guiding question: How to journal? I started by researching about what a journal is. What I found out is that a journal can be a periodical (e.g. magazines, newspapers) of a specific topic, daily newspaper, a daily record of transactions, a daybook or a personal daily record of experiences, occurrences, ideas, observations, or reflection. I also found out that a journal is different from a diary because it includes a reflection and that the writer should be aware of the differences between the objective and subjective dimensions. Another thing I found out during the research is that a journal for research is called a research journal. I am not quite sure about the purpose of a research journal though. Some sources say that it is a record of notes from research and a discussion of them but some others say that it is only a discussion of the information obtained and the research notes should be put in a research log. Another thing I'm not really sure about is what specific elements should be included in a research journal. Some sources say that there should be a section on where the sources are reflected on and a plan on how to do the research but some other say different things. One thing that I need to research more about is on the arrangement/format of a research journal.