research annotated bibliography

WRITING TYPES AND TOOLS

Writing An Annotated Bibliography (1) Differences Between a Reference Page and Annotated Bibliography

Conducting research and documenting your findings is an essential part of the ‘academic’

writing process. Unless your professor instructs you to do otherwise, all projects must include

in-text citations, quotation marks (when using direct quotes), and a reference page. This

happens during the process of composing a paper. There are times when you will need (or be

required) to conduct initial research prior to deciding on a thesis or focus. An annotated

bibliography is a helpful tool to help you track and assess these sources. The following table

illustrates the main differences between a reference page and an annotated bibliography:

Reference Page Annotated Bibliography

Purpose Lists sources that you actually used

in a project

A research tool that lists all sources

you have examined in preparation for a

project

Appearance

Follows APA formatting conventions

(Click here for an example)

Follows APA formatting conventions

and includes an annotation

Other

There are NO annotations in a

reference page; there is no need for

them since you have put all of

your research together.

The idea here is that you can refer back

to your annotated bibliography at any

time as you write your research paper

and find any material you are looking

for.

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(2) Components of an Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography includes topic research, complete source citation, and a short

annotation (paragraph) for each source. How annotations are written depends on the purpose

of the research. There are two main components for each source included in an annotated

bibliography:

Bibliographic information: This includes the complete citation information formatted

using correct APA format. This is the information you would normally include on a

reference page.

Annotation: This is a short paragraph about the source. Again, how this is written

depends on the purpose and/or requirements of the research.

(3) Purposes of Writing an Annotated Bibliography

Writing an annotated bibliography is an effective way to document the research process and

better prepare for a first draft. When your instructor requires you to create an annotated

bibliography, he or she is setting you up for success. Among others, the results can include a

focused preliminary thesis and a detailed analysis of possible resources. Following are more

details of the purposes and benefits of writing an annotated bibliography:

Formulate a Thesis: Conducting research is a prewriting activity that can help narrow

the focus of a topic that you are researching. Writing annotations for each source can

help you understand the breadth and depth of a subject and determine your focus.

Review the Literature: An annotated bibliography can assist you with the research

for a paper topic by helping you analyze the available literature. This is especially helpful

for relatively new or persuasive topics where it is important to read about multiple sides

of an issue.

Illustrate the Direction of Your Research: An employer or professor may want a

preview of your research prior to the final draft of your paper. An annotated

bibliography is a way to show your audience your current research and its usefulness.

Help Other Researchers: When other researchers find your paper particularly

engaging, they often will examine your reference page. However, an annotated

bibliography gives the reader more information about a source, such as a summary, and

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she or he can make an informed decision about whether to locate that source. With a

reference page, the reader has to guess whether a source will be useful and relevant.

(4) Ways to Annotate Sources

There are several ways to write annotations depending on the purpose of the bibliography

and/or the requirements of the assignment or research. Common approaches to writing

annotation include the following:

Summarize the Source: Summarizing information about a source means to state

briefly the main ideas of the source in relation to the current research. For instance, a

medical book may have multiple chapters, but the only part to summarize for this source

is the information that pertains to research for the current paper’s topic. Please note: A

summary must be written in your own words.

Evaluate the Source: To evaluate a source means the writer determines the strengths

and weaknesses of the piece in relation to a particular research topic. The reliability and

validity of the source are also determined.

1. Reliability: This refers to the source’s credibility. Is it biased? Is the article

from a website that is also selling a product related to the subject of the article?

Is there a hidden agenda in the source?

2. Validity: This indicates the accuracy or correctness of the information. Is the

information gathered from experts? Is it just the opinion of the author? Is the

author an authority on the topic at hand? What are his or her professional or

academic credentials?

Reflect on the Usefulness of the Source: How does this source fit in with the

current research project? Is this a source you can use in your paper? Is it better suited

as a starting point to find other sources (i.e., is it useful only for background

information)?

Combination: Any combination of the above approaches to writing an annotation may

be required. You may choose to write a separate short paragraph for each approach, or

combine them into one annotation. As always, it is essential that you are careful to

restate things in your own words to avoid plagiarizing the authors’ original ideas.

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(5) Sample Citations with Annotations

Here are examples of sources that have been cited using APA guidelines and followed with an

annotation using the previously mentioned techniques. Please note which techniques or

combinations of techniques have been used.

Baker, B. (2003). Version control helps keep rework to a minimum. EDN, 48(26).

Retrieved December 11, 2005, from Academic Search Premier database.

This is a short article geared mostly toward digital developers who either are programming more

than 10,000 lines of code or are programming within teams. It also emphasizes the importance

of a VCS, but more so in the development environment. For this project, the only thing I might

use this for is the simple statement that while VCS is great for any work environment,

without the discipline to use them regularly, they are worthless.

Huber, T. (2005). JEDI version control system. Retrieved December 11, 2005, from

http://jedivcs.sourceforge.net/

This site includes detailed instructions for operating an open source VCS. It is written for a

technical audience that must have some background on this particular system. What is

interesting about this site is the idea of open source. Maybe there are other version control

systems available via the Internet through shareware sites. This particular site will probably not

be used in writing the final project, but it is a source that can lead to further research on this

idea of freeware for a VCS.

McVittie, L. (2001). Version control, with integrity. Network Computing, 12(21).

Retrieved December 11, 2007, from Academic Search Premier.

This is great article with an overview of the details inside a VCS—branching, configuration,

repository, access management, and more. What makes this article valuable though is the

overview of several version control systems on the market (at least in 2001). After reading

through the overview of several products, if one fits what my company is looking for then. I can

begin searching for that product and further information on the Internet. This article may or

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may not be used in the actual writing of the final proposal, but it will be useful information for

further research on the project.

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