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Paper: Annotated Bibliography

The purpose of this guide is to provide advice on how to develop and organize a research paper in the social
sciences.

Purpose of Guide Types of Research Designs 1. Choosing a Research Problem

2. Preparing to Write 3. The Abstract 4. The Introduction 5. The Literature Review

6. The Methodology 7. The Results 8. The Discussion 9. The Conclusion

10. Proofreading Your Paper 11. Citing Sources Annotated Bibliography

Giving an Oral Presentation Grading Someone Else's Paper How to Manage Group Projects

Writing a Book Review Writing a Case Study Writing a Field Report Writing a Policy Memo

Writing a Research Proposal Acknowledgements

Definition

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations related to a particular topic or theme that include a brief
descriptive and/or evaluative summary. The annotated bibliography can be arranged chronologically by date
of publication or alphabetically by author, with citations to print and/or digital materials, such as, books,
newspaper articles, journal articles, dissertations, government documents, pamphlets, web sites, etc., and
multimedia sources like films and audio recordings.

Harner, James L. On Compiling an Annotated Bibliography. 2nd edition. New York: Modern Language Association, 2000.
Importance of a Good Annotated Bibliography

In lieu of writing a formal research paper, your professor may ask you to develop an annotated bibliography.
You may be assigned to writean annotated bibliography for a number of reasons, including: 1) to show that
you understand the literature underpinning a research problem; 2) to demonstrate that you can conduct an
effective and thorough review of pertinent literature; or, 3) to share sources among your classmates so that,
collectively, everyone in the class obtains a comprehensive understanding of key research about a particular
topic. Think of an annotated bibliography as a more deliberate, in-depth review of the literature than what is
normally conducted for a research paper.

On a broader level, writing an annotated bibliography can be excellent preparation for conducting a larger
research project by allowing you to evaluate what research has already been conducted and where your
proposed study may fit within it. By reading and critically analyzing a variety of sources associated with a
research problem, you can begin to evaluate what the issues are and to gain a better perspective on what
scholars are saying about your topic. As a result, you are better prepared to develop your own point of view
and contributions to the literature.

In summary, a good annotated bibliography...

Encourages you to think critically about the content of the works you are using, their place within the
broader field of study, and their relation to your own research, assumptions, and ideas;
Provides evidence that you have read and understood your sources;
Establishes validity for the research you have done and of you as a researcher;
Gives you an opportunity to consider and include key digital, multimedia, or archival materials among
your review of the literature;
Situates your study and underlying research problem in a continuing professional conversation;
Provides an opportunity for others to determine whether a source will be helpful for their research; and,
Could help researchers determine whether they are interested in a topic by providing background
information and an idea of the kind of scholarly investigations that have been conducted in a particular
area of study.

Annotated Bibliographies. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Annotated Bibliographies. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Annotated

Bibliography. The Waldin Writing Center. Waldin University; Hartley, James. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Guide. (New York: Routledge, 2008), p. 127-

128.

Structure and Writing Style

I. Types
1. Descriptive: This annotation describes the source without summarizing the actual argument,
hypothesis, or message in the content. Like an abstract, it describes what the source addresses, what
issues are being investigated, and any special features, such as appendices or bibliographies, that are
used to supplement the main text. What it does not include is any evaluation or criticism of the content.
This type of annotation seeks to answer the question: Does this source cover or address the topic I am
researching?
2. Informative/Summative: This type of annotation summarizes what the content, message, or argument
of the source is. It generally contains the hypothesis, methodology, and conclusion or findings, but like
the descriptive type, you are not offering your own evaluative comments about such content. This type
of annotation seeks to answer these types of questions: What are the author's main arguments? What
 of annotation seeks to answer these types of questions: What are the author's main arguments? What
conclusions did the author draw?
3. Evaluative/Critical/Analytical: This annotation includes your evaluative statements about the content of
a source. It is the most common type of annotation your professor will ask you to write. Your critique
may focus on describing a study's strengths and weaknesses or it may describe the applicability of the
conclusions to the research problem you are studying. This type of annotation seeks to answer these
types of questions: Is the reasoning sound? Is the methodology sound? Does this source address all the
relevant issues? How does this source compare to other sources on this topic?

NOTE: Strategies about how to critically evaluate a source can be found here.

II. Choosing Sources for Your Bibliography

There are two good strategies you should use to begin identifying possible sources for your bibliography--one
that looks back into the literature and one that looks forward.

1. The first strategy is to identify several recent scholarly books or journal articles on the topic of your
annotated bibliography and review the sources cited by the author(s). Often, the items cited by an author
will effectively lead you to related sources about the topic.
2. The second strategy is to identify one or more important books, book chapters, journal articles, or other
documents on your topic and paste the title of the item in Google Scholar [e.g., from Negotiation Journal,
entering the article, "Civic Fusion: Moving from Certainty through Not Knowing to Curiosity"], placing
quotation marks around the title so Google Scholar searches as a phrase rather than a combination of
individual words. Below the citation may be a "Cited by" reference followed by a linked number. This link
will direct you to a list of other study's that have cited that particular item after it was published.

Your method for selecting which sources to annotate depends on the purpose of the assignment and the
research problem you are investigating. For example, if the research problem is to compare the social factors
that led to protests in Egypt with the social factors that led to protests against the government of the
Phillippines in the 1980's, you will have to consider including non-U.S., historical, and, if possible, foreign
language sources in your bibliography.

NOTE: Appropriate sources to include can be anything that has value in understanding the research problem.
Be creative in thinking about possible sources, including non-textual items, such as, films, maps, photographs,
and audio recordings, or archival documents and primary source materials, such as, diaries, government
documents, collections of personal correspondence, meeting minutes, and official memorandums. Consult
with a librarian if you're not sure how to locate these types of materials for your bibliography.

III. Strategies to Define the Scope of your Bibliography

It is important that the sources cited and described in your bibliography are well-defined and sufficiently
narrow in coverage to ensure that you're not overwhelmed by the number of potential items to consider
including. Many of the general strategies used to narrow a topic for a research paper are the same that you
can use to define the scope of your bibliography. These are:

Aspect -- choose one lens through which to view the research problem, or look at just one facet of your
topic [e.g., rather than a bibliography of sources about the role of food in religious rituals, create a
bibliography on the role of food in Hindu ceremonies].
Time -- the shorter the time period to be covered, the more narrow the focus [e.g., rather than political
scandals of the 20th century, cite literature on political scandals during the 1930s and the 1990s].
Geography -- the smaller the region of analysis, the fewer items there are to consider including in your
 Geography -- the smaller the region of analysis, the fewer items there are to consider including in your
bibliography [e.g., rather than cite sources about trade relations in West Africa, include only sources that
examine trade relations between Niger and Cameroon].
Type -- focus your bibliography on a specific type or class of people, places, or things [e.g., rather than
health care provision in Japan, cite research on health care provided to elderly men in Japan].
Source -- your bibliography includes specific types of materials [e.g., only books, only scholarly journal
articles, only films, etc.]. However, be sure to describe why only one type of source is appropriate.

Combination -- use two or more of the above strategies to focus your bibliography very narrowly or to

broaden coverage of a very specific research problem [e.g., cite literature only about political scandals
during the 1930s and the 1990s and that have only taken place in Great Britain].

IV. Assessing the Relevance and Value of Sources

All the items you include in your bibliography should reflect the source's contribution to understanding the
research problem or the overall issue being addressed. In order to determine how you will use the source or
define its contribution, you will need to assess the quality of the central argument within the source. Specific
elements to assess include an items overall value in relation to other sources on the topic, its limitations, its
effectiveness in defining the research problem, the methodology used, the quality of the evidence, and the
authors conclusions and/or recommendations.

With this in mind, determining whether a source should be included in your bibliography depends on how you
think about and answer the following questions related to its content:

Are you interested in the way the author frames the research questions or in the way the author goes
about answering it [the method]?
Does the research findings make new connections or promote new ways of understanding a problem?
Are you interested in the way the author uses a theoretical framework or a key concept?
Does the source refer to and analyze a particular body of evidence that you want to cite?
How are the author's conclusions relevant to your overall investigation of the topic?

V. Format and Content

The format of an annotated bibliography can differ depending on its purpose and the nature of the
assignment. Contents may be listed alphabetically by author or arranged chronologically by publication date.
If the bibliography includes a lot of sources, items may also be subdivided thematically or by type. If you are
unsure, ask your professor for specific guidelines in terms of length, focus, and the type of annotation you are
to write.

Introduction
Your bibliography should include a brief introductory paragraph that explains the method used to identify
possible sources [including what sources, such as databases, you searched], the rationale for selecting the
sources, and a statement, if appropriate, regarding what sources were deliberately excluded and the reasons
why.

Citation
This first part of your entry contains the bibliographic information written in a standard documentation style,
such as, MLA, Chicago, or APA. Ask your professor what style is most appropriate and be consistent!
Annotation
The second part should summarize, in paragraph form, the content of the source. What you say about the
source is dictated by the type of annotation you are asked to write. In most cases, however, your annotation
should provide critical commentary that examines the source and its relationship to the topic. Things to think
critically about when writing the annotation include: Does the source offer a good introduction on the issue?
Does the source effectively address the issue? Would novices find the work accessible or is it intended for an
audience already familiar with the topic? What limitations does the source have [reading level, timeliness,
reliability, etc.]? Are any special features, such as, appendices or non-textual elements effectively presented?
What is your overall reaction to the source? If it's a website or online resource, is it up-to-date, well-organized,
and easy to read, use, and navigate?

Length
Annotations can vary significantly in length, from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. However, they
are normally about 300 words. The length will depend on the purpose. If you're just writing summaries of your
sources, the annotations may not be very long. However, if you are writing an extensive analysis of each
source, you'll need to devote more space.

Annotated Bibliographies. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Annotated Bibliographies. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Annotated

Bibliography. The Writers Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Annotated Bibliography. Writing Center. Walden University; Engle, Michael et

al. How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography. Olin Reference, Research and Learning Services. Cornell University Library; Guidelines for Preparing an Annotated

Bibliography. Writing Center at Campus Library. University of Washington, Bothell; Harner, James L. On Compiling an Annotated Bibliography. 2nd edition. New York:

Modern Language Association, 2000; How to Write an Annotated Bibliography. Information and Library Services. University of Maryland; Knott, Deborah. Writing an

Annotated Bibliography. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Writing from Sources: Writing an Annotated Bibliography. The

Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College.

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