ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY GUIDELINES
Ghosts that Haunt Us-HONORS 392G – Prof. Connie Griffin
What is an Annotated Bibliography? It is like a bibliography that you would include at the end of a research paper, but each source has an annotation. An annotation includes both a description and specific information about your source.
How to Write an Annotated Bibliography. A good Annotated Bibliography requires systematic research after you’ve chosen your topic. “Research” implies that you have done a careful and systematic search of available sources on your topic and research questions. “Systematic” implies that you keep an orderly record of your research. Haphazard research does nothing more than make more work for you.
If you were doing a research paper, you would be asking questions such as: How will I use this source in writing my paper? Why use this particular journal article instead of another?
If any of the sources you locate are on databases (e.g., the library database, Westlaw, or Lexis), print them, email them to yourself, or save them to your hard-drive. Do not turn them in with this assignment, but you should make them readily available to yourself. Do not count on being able to locate or access an article at a later time. Also, plan ahead if you need to acquire any of your sources via inter-library loan.
What types of sources should be included in an annotated bibliography? Research paper sources can be primary, secondary, or a combination of the two. Primary sources include but aren’t limited to historical documents, statistical data, works of art or literature. Think of them as sources no one (an author, editor, etc.) has interpreted. They are the original document, writing, artwork, etc. A good example is the U.S. Constitution. Compare this to a book about the Constitution such as “George W. Bush Versus the U.S. Constitution: The Downing Street Memos and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, Coverups in the Iraq War and Illegal Domestic Spying” by Conyers, et al. That interpretation is a secondary source. Secondary sources are examinations and interpretations of primary sources done by researchers. Academic papers generally include a combination of both primary and secondary sources.
In addition to all the good sources available, there are plenty of bad sources to avoid altogether, e.g., Wikipedia, World Book Encyclopedia, your roommate’s opinion, something you overheard when you were out with friends, etc. Therefore, whether looking at on-line sources, books, scholarly journal articles, or other sources, you must consider the quality and credibility of the source. Sources are of varying reliability; some are outdated or biased.
Some of the most reliable sources are peer-reviewed journal articles (also known as refereed articles). Such articles go through rigorous review and scrutiny before publication. Examples of peer-reviewed journals include JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Accountancy, Journal of Animal Science, Rural Sociology, and American Journal of Physical Anthropology. If you are unsure whether a journal is peer-reviewed, ask one of the librarians at DuBois Library. The upper right-hand corner of the Library home page has an “Ask a Librarian” feature. Use it for quick library research questions.
What is the purpose of THIS annotated Bibliography? This assignment serves several purposes. It gets you going on the research you need to write a first-rate college-level research paper. It also gives you an idea of available sources on your chosen research topic and the public and academic discourse around your topic. It provides the research you will likely use for your Action Plan. And, if there are no sources, it is best to find out earlier rather than later.
How is the annotated bibliography list formatted? Annotations must be full sentences that are grammatically correct (not fragments). Your sources must be properly formatted bibliographical citations (MLA style) and provide a summary (or summaries) of the source, some paraphrases of key ideas, and several quotations addressing the topic of your research.
Details on MLA formatting are available at several on-line sites such as http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource.
Is the Annotated Bibliography assignment the same one you will include with your final paper? It can be. Although you will undoubtedly add or remove sources from your annotated bibliography as you develop your final project. You may even choose to address a different topic for your final research paper. It is in your best interest, however, to make the sources you choose for the annotated bibliography assignment as close as possible to the list of sources you plan to use both for your Action Plan and your final paper. That does not mean that you may not add or remove sources. As you begin to write your final paper, it is natural to find either that a source you initially thought would be useful is not or that you had failed to find a particularly outstanding source in your initial research.