The loose research material arrived at Spencer Library with no discernable order. Spencer processing staff identified these notes by author, title, publication title, or page header information provided by Dardess and alphabetized by the staff-derived titles for easier access. A significant portion of the records had title information underlined or highlighted in various colors, but Spencer Library staff could not discern a clear pattern or organization with the color coding. Additionally, many of the records have titles or citations in Chinese, and a few of the notes are written in Chinese. Spencer processing staff pulled what identifying information they could from these records and kept Dardess's English titles and spellings.

Dardess wrote most of his research notes on the back of recycled paper, including records with confidential medical and financial information. In order to protect Dardess's personal information and keep the core research content with the collection, Spencer processing staff photocopied research notes written on the back of records with sensitive information and destroyed the original copy.