Annotated bibliography
Introduction
Purpose of this module:
To help you understand what is required when compiling an annotated bibliography as part of your assessment.
Learning objectives:
By taking this tutorial, you will be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of what constitutes a good annotated bibliography
- recognise the importance of referencing correctly
- show evidence that you can apply good evaluation criteria in the selection of sources to include in your bibliography
- show evidence that you can apply critical thinking skills when writing annotations
What is an annotated bibliography
A bibliography is an alphabetical listing of books. They are generally included at the end of an article, chapter or book, to reference those works which the author referred to during the research and writing process. Bibliographies should include any source used whether books, journal articles, reports, electronic materials such as web sites, video or audio recordings.
A bibliography details the citation information for each source: author(s), date of publication, title, and publisher's name and location, including journal title, volume part and page numbers for journal articles. Further information such as the URL (web address) and/or format is required for non print materials. The exact layout of each entry is determined by the citation style used. One of the functions of a bibliography is to enable the reader to find the sources used in the writing of the piece and therefore accuracy is essential.
An annotated bibliography can be defined as a list of works on a particular topic, with each entry accompanied by a note (i.e. an annotation) intended to describe, summarise, and evaluate each source included.
The content of an annotated bibliography may vary depending on its purpose. It may:
- review the literature of a particular subject;
- demonstrate the quality and depth of reading that you have done
- exemplify the scope of sources available—such as journals, books, web sites and magazine articles;
- highlight sources that may be of interest to other readers and researchers;
- emphasise and organise sources for further research.
Why write an annotated bibliography?
Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a research project. It tests your understanding of the key literature for your topic, and where each source fits into your own research question. It also enables you to highlight where there are research questions still to be answered and thus to put your own thesis into context.
By writing annotations for each source, you have to critically read and select, summarise the main points, evaluate the quality of each piece of research and consider what you have read from your own perspective.
Each annotation should be more than a mere description and more than just a summary of the main conclusions although these are important elements. Each entry should also include an evaluation of the source and an assessment of its usefulness to your research topic. It therefore requires a critical analysis of the overall literature on your topic, a selection of the ‘key’ sources and your own personal reflection on how these have added to your thinking. The annotation should normally be objective rather than subjective.
By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you can see what issues are involved, what the current thinking is in your field and then develop your own arguments and point of view. It will also assist you in writing the literature review required for your degree.
How do I write an annotated bibliography?
Decide on the Focus of bibliography
You first need to decide on the focus for your annotated bibliography. This will generally be the same as the focus of your research topic but this is not essential. Define the scope of your bibliography carefully so that you can make good judgments about what to include and exclude. You need to be reasonably comprehensive but keep within well-defined boundaries to fit within the overall word count required. You will need to read more widely than just the items you select for inclusion to ensure you have chosen the key material. This involves continually refining your focus as you proceed.
Search the relevant subject databases, open access journals and institutional repositories covering your topic.
For help on searching databases use the tutorials Bibliographic Databases and Successful Database Searching. For help on searching open access journals and institutional repositories use http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/cdlists/articles.html Locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and other documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Be accurate and write down all the information you need to include in the citation. Use a reference management system such as Endnote.
Select your sources carefully
Briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic and read these in more depth. Keep the following questions in mind to help when selecting the sources and writing your annotations.
- What specific topic/ problem am I investigating?
- What research question(s) am I exploring? What is the overall aim of my research? Has my aim altered, and become more focused through using particular sources?
- What type of information sources do I need for my research? Am I looking for journal articles, reports, policies or primary historical data?
- How does each individual text relate to my research topic and add to my thinking? How can I justify its inclusion in the annotated bibliography?
- What are the essential or key texts on my topic? Am I finding them? How do I know they are the essential texts? Are the sources cited frequently by other authors?
- Is it a reliable and current source? Is the research biased or objective? Who is the author? What are his/her credentials?
- What question(s) does each source investigate? How effective is the research method used? How good is the evidence? Do you draw the same conclusions from the evidence presented?
- Has the author developed a logical argument; identified any flaws or weaknesses in their research; made relevant connections or links across topics, themes and disciplines, or linked theory to practice?
For additional help on Evaluating Information use appropriate tutorial
Critical writing skills
Your aim should be to convince your reader us that you understand where each source fits into your research proposal. Ask yourselves the following questions:
- Is your research topic clearly stated? Is it in focus throughout each annotation?
- Does your reasoning on the value of each source lead to a logical conclusion?
- Do you state and defend your assumptions?
- Is your position well-informed?
- Are your evaluations sound?
- Are your sources the leading research for your field? Are they credible?
- Have you generalised too much or been too specific too soon?
- Have you covered alternative views?
- Are you being fair and open-minded?
- Will your annotated bibliography convince your reader?
- Is your writing clear and concise?
Based on Ennis, R.H. (2006) Critical thinking skills. Available from: http://faculty.ed.uiuc.edu/rhennis/
Tips (from UNSW)
- Each annotation should be concise. Do not write too much—remember, you are writing a summary, not an essay. Annotations should not extend beyond one paragraph unless otherwise stipulated in your assignment guidelines. As this is not an extended piece of writing, only mention significant and relevant details
- Any information apparent in the title of the text or journal can be omitted from the annotation.
- Background materials and references to previous work by the same author usually are not included. As you are addressing one text at a time, there is no need to cross reference or use in-text citations to support your annotation.
- Unless otherwise stipulated, you should write in full sentences using academic vocabulary.
Reporting words
It is sometimes challenging to find the vocabulary in which to summarise and discuss a text. Here is a list of some verbs for referring to texts and ideas that you might find useful:
Click on the links above for a definition of the verbs given in the Compact English Dictionary available from AskOxford.com
Adapted from the University of Toronto (2008) Writing an Annotated Bibliography. Available from: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/annotatebib.html
Guidelines for annotations
In the sample annotation below, each element is numbered (see Key):
(1) Trevor, C.O., Lansford, B. and Black, J.W., 2004, 'Employee turnover and job performance: monitoring the influences of salary growth and promotion', Journal of Armchair Psychology, vol 113, no.1, pp. 56-64.
(2) In this article Trevor et al. review the influences of pay and job opportunities in respect to job performance, turnover rates and employee motivation. (3) The authors use data gained through organisational surveys of blue-chip companies in Vancouver, Canada to try to identify the main causes of employee turnover and whether it is linked to salary growth. (4) Their research focuses on assessing a range of pay structures such as pay for performance and organisational reward schemes. (5) The article is useful to my research topic, as Trevor et al. suggest that there are numerous reasons for employee turnover and variances in employee motivation and performance. (6) The main limitation of the article is that the survey sample was restricted to mid-level management, (7) thus the authors indicate that further, more extensive, research needs to be undertaken to develop a more in-depth understanding of employee turnover and job performance. (8) This article will not form the basis of my research; however it will be useful supplementary information for my research on pay structures.
Key:
(1) Citation
(2) Introduction
(3) Aims & Research methods
(4) Scope
(5) Usefulness (to your research/ to a
particular topic)
(6) Limitations
(7) Conclusions
(8) Reflection (explain how this work
illuminates your topic or how it will fit
in with your research)
Now test your understanding of annotating a bibliography by taking the drag and drop quiz.
Summary
You have now finished this tutorial!
Having worked through this tutorial you should now be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of what constitutes a good annotated bibliography
- recognise the importance of referencing correctly
- show evidence that you can apply good evaluation criteria in the selection of sources to include in your bibliography
- show evidence that you can apply critical thinking skills when writing annotations
To revise anything, click on the relevant link on the left-hand side in the Content Menu to be taken to that page.
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