annotated bibliography,

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

Annotated bibliographies are relatively short lists of articles, books and other works on a topic. This list includes both citation information and a paragraph (the annotation) describing and evaluating the source. Annotations are typically 100 to 200 words in length, depending on the intended purpose of the bibliography. The bibliography itself may be in alphabetical order (as in a regular bibliography or list of works cited) or may organize items into categories such as subject, type of resource (i.e. books, articles), or time period.

What are Annotated Bibliographies used for?

What are Annotated Bibliographies used for?

Annotated bibliographies are created for several reasons. Some researchers create them to help keep track of sources of interest and collect their thoughts about the item, often as a precursor to writing an article or book. Annotated bibliographies are often shared or published as a way of gathering the most relevant sources about an issue in one place and sharing the information with others. Readers use the annotations to help them decide whether or not a source is worth pursuing; so it is important that the annotation be accurate and informative.

What’s the Difference between an Annotation and an Abstract?

What’s the Difference between an Annotation and an Abstract?

Many students get abstracts and annotations confused. An abstract is provided for you with an article and is intended to provide readers with a short summary in your own words of the purpose of an article. For scientific articles, it may also mention the type of study/methodology used. Abstracts are often written by the author.

Annotations, on the other hand, not only summarize the main points (in your own words) of a work but also evaluate it and indicate how that work fits into the scholarly conversation on a topic. Annotations are never written by the author and should be unbiased.

Annotated Bibliography with Emphasis on Annotations and Citations

Annotated Bibliography with Emphasis on Annotations and Citations

A. What is it?

i) A list of citations to books, articles, websites, etc.

ii) Followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph (summarized in your own words), the annotation.

B. What is the purpose of an annotated bibliography?

i) A review of the literature (information from source) on your topic.

ii) Illustrates the quality of research done and encourages critical thinking.

iii) Describes other items on a topic that may be of interest to others doing research.

iv) Inform the reader of the “CRAAP” method.

C. Why write an Annotated Bibliography?

i) To learn about your topic in preparation for your research paper.

ii) To develop a thesis that is debatable, interesting, and current.

iii) To review the literature and determine where your own research fits into the issues.

D. Annotations

i) Annotations versus Abstracts: Both are summaries but…

ii) Abstracts: are descriptive summaries found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or the summary at the beginning of your APA paper which describes your entire paper.

iii) Annotations: are descriptive and critical summaries in your own words; exposing the author's point of view, clarity and authority.

E. Types of Annotations

i) Informative : Just a summary description the of source

ii) Evaluative : defines the scope of the source, lists the significant topics included, and tells what the source is about

iii) Indicative: to assess the source's strengths and weaknesses.

iv) Combination: combine elements of all the types

F. Format of the annotation

i) Double spaced

ii) Use the third person – do not use “I..”

iii) Use the literary present tense.

iv) Examples: “This article discusses…” ; “In this article, the author supports…”: “This book gives a detailed view on…”; “This author(s) describes…

G. Citations

i) What is a citation and it contains?

ii) Citation is the proper format of your source’s information.

iii) It contains: Authors name, Date, Title of work

iv) Each type of source such as books, websites, and articles has different information.

How do I Write an Annotation?

How do I Write an Annotation?

Keep in mind that annotations are supposed to highlight the most important points of a resource. If you’re struggling to keep your annotations short, make sure you’re not getting too specific - if people reading your bibliography want to know more, they can find the work and read it directly. Also, always remember that annotations should be as unbiased as possible – keep your personal opinions out!

Although they are short, annotations should be extremely informative and include most, if not all, of the following categories:

1.Author Information and Purpose

Include a brief mention of the author’s expertise in the area or their credentials. Also consider why the author conducted the research or wrote the article and make note of any particular message or intent of the author.

2.Methods Used or Source of the Information

Mention in broad terms the methods the author used to obtain the information in the article. This is particularly important with scientific sources but also applies to works in the humanities and arts. (For example, the information may be based on personal opinion, experience, interviews, library or archival research, questionnaires, laboratory experiments, empirical observation, or standardized personality tests.)

3.Author’s Conclusion

State the main conclusion drawn by the author and make special note of conclusions that are implied rather than specifically stated.

4.Justification for the Conclusion

Address whether or not the author’s conclusion is supported by his or her data and make special note of shaky reasoning or biases present in the conclusion drawn.

5.Relationship to Other Works

Briefly state how this work relates to other works in the bibliography or the field as a whole. Does the author and/or the information coincide with the other sources? Does it conflict with the standard views? Does the author specifically address other studies or works?

In addition to these 5 main points, annotations may also include the following components, as needed:

1.Author Bias

If you discern any biases of the author, mention these in the annotation and explain how they impact the information in the article (for example, the methods used or conclusion drawn) and how it relates to other sources in the bibliography.

2.Time Frame

You may want to address the publication date and how this impacts the information in the source if you’re citing an older work or a particularly recent work. Consider how the time it was written impacts the value of the information.

3.Audience Information

If the author is addressing an unusual audience or the intended audience impacted the nature of the information used in the article, you should mention the intended audience in your annotation. You may also want to include this if the author’s style makes the work easier or harder for potential readers to understand. (For example, if you’re writing an annotated bibliography evaluating sources for high school students, you should make note of works that are particularly dense reads.)

4.Potential Use

Particularly when writing an annotated bibliography for an assignment, you may wish to include a brief statement of how you intend to use the information in this source in your final paper or project.

Example Annotations - The following examples use APA format for citations.

THESIS STATEMENT IN RUNNING HEAD FORMAT

Halsey, A. (2012). Laws against texting while driving are ineffective. Washington Post. Retrieved from

Gale database.

This article discusses and introduces current and new laws that combat texting while driving. The focus is the state legislature side-tracking safety efforts because they institute trivial laws, such as increasing speed limits to 75 mph. This article also offers statistics in regards to fatalities and its connection to distracted driving. Finally, this article suggests that law enforcement is provided, essentially, ineffective laws. So, they’ve ultimately been set up for failure.

Sawyer, B. D., Finomore, V. S., Calvo, A. A., & Hancock, P. A. (2014). Google Glass: A driver distraction

cause or cure? Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics Safety, 56(7), 1307-1321. Retrieved

from Sage database.

This paper brings attention to applications of Google Glass that will assist in curing distracted driving. It assesses the distraction potential of texting with Google Glass. The authors, and many

of their supporters, claim that the device transmits information without distraction. This article concludes that Google Glass is not a cure, but directed at the design of devices that reduce multitasking.

Chase, J. D. (2014). U.S. state and federal laws targeting distracted driving. Annals of Advances in

Automotive Medicine, 58, 84–98. Retrieved from Ebscohost database.

This article makes a plea for more comprehensive and effective approaches to tackle distracted driving. Restrictions on electronics and some voluntary guidelines and recommendations are emphasized. This article also proposes using past traffic safety campaigns, such as the “three Es”–Enactment of a law, Education of the public about the law, and rigorous Enforcement of the law. This article then concludes that this approach is necessary in order to alter personal behavior and reduce distractions and keep drivers focused on driving.

Simons, D. & Chabris, C. (2015, October 31). A simple solution for distracted driving. Wall Street Journal.

Retrieved from: http://www.wsj.com

This article proposes that cell phone companies integrate a driving mode on smartphones. One of the challenges is motivating drivers to turn on driving mode. To encourage people to use driving mode, this article suggests cell phone and insurance companies offer rewards for using the system. This article also recognizes that any solution should respect human cognition and the flaws of human intuition.