An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) description of the book, article, or document. The annotation describes the main points of the work and how it can be used in research. It also evaluates the work’s strengths and limitations. An annotated bibliography can be a great way to keep track of your research and ideas.
How do you write a good annotation that provides context and critical analysis for your sources?
Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Start with the basics: write down the citation. You can copy citations from Google Scholar by simply clicking “cite” link you can find below every academic source.
2. Take some time to read and evaluate each source. What are the main ideas? What are the key arguments or findings? How does this source contribute to your understanding of the topic?
3. Begin your annotation with a summary of the main points of the work.
4. Follow your summary with a critical analysis of the work. What are its strengths and limitations? How does it compare or contrast with other works on the same topic?
5. Finally, reflect on the usefulness of the source. How does it fit with your own research? What questions does it raise for you?
What are the major types of annotated bibliography?
There are two major types of annotated bibliographies: descriptive and evaluative.
Descriptive annotated bibliography
A descriptive annotated bibliography simply provides a summary of each source. It does not provide any evaluation or criticism of the work.
Evaluative annotated bibliography
An evaluative annotated bibliography provides a brief summary of each source, but it also includes an evaluation or criticism of the work. The evaluation may be positive, negative, or mixed.
Evaluative bibliographies are the most common type of annotated bibliography. They are often used to prepare for conducting a study. Students often write annotations as they read and research a topic.
By the time they are ready to write their paper, they will have a good understanding of what research papers are avaliable on the topic, and what gaps in the research need to be addressed.
What are the benefits of writing an annotated bibliography?
There are several benefits to writing an annotated bibliography:
An annotated bibliography can help you to:
- Keep track of your research. It can be a great way to organize your thoughts and ideas.
- Determine which sources are most useful to your research.
- Find new sources of information. By reading the annotations, you can learn about new authors and new works on your topic.
- Write a better paper. By understanding the strengths and limitations of your sources, you can use them more effectively in your paper.
Examples of annotated bibliographies
American psychological association (APA) sample bibliography
Annotated bibliographies follow a specific format developed by the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA style requires you to list citations in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, as you usually do in the reference list.
You can check the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for more information on how to format your citations.
Sample APA format annotated bibliography
Janssen, S., Vuuren, M., & Jong, M. D. (2016). Informal mentoring at work: A review and suggestions for future research. International journal of management reviews, 18(4), 498-517.
Janssen, Vuuren, & Jong (2016) identify problems related to mentoring research and provide suggestions on how these problems can be solved in the future. For instance, the authors claim that there is a lack of studies emphasizing the importance of context and its on informal mentoring relationships. Moreover, the authors also criticize that literature on mentoring has adopted a functional approach, meaning that people engage in human relationships in order to obtain certain positive outcomes. However, the authors insist that humans are often engaged in relationships without expecting to acquire certain benefits, which should be considered in future mentoring research. The article has high readability and good structure. The authors used tables to summarize underdeveloped areas in the literature, key questions to address, current development, and future research directions. It is also interesting that the authors described the review methodology, which increases the trustworthiness of the article. All claims made by authors are supported by an extensive literature review, and recommendations provided in this article should be used by researchers to fill the gap in the mentoring scientific literature related to contextual factors and relational or affiliative motivations.
Modern language association (MLA) sample bibliography
The main difference between APA and MLA is how citations are formatted in the bibliography. You use different software to format citations of scholarly journal articles, books, and other scholarly sources in an appropriate citation format, or just copy the citation directly from Google Scholar.
Sample MLA format annotated bibliography
Economou, Marina, et al. “Major depression in the era of economic crisis: a replication of a cross-sectional study across Greece.” Journal of affective disorders 145.3 (2013): 308-314.
The article by Economou, Madianos, Peppou, Patelakis & Stefanis (2013) explored the effects of the economic crisis in Greece on the mental health of Greeks. The main focus of the research was on major depressive disorder. The interview was chosen as the main data collection method. The interviews were conducted via phone in 2008 and 2011 year. In 2008, 2197 people were interviewed, and 2256 people were interviewed in 2011. The results of this research indicated that MDD rates are correlated with the financial crisis. There has been a significant increase in MDD rates since the crisis started. In fact, the research found that in 2011 Greeks suffered from MDD 2.6 times more compared to 2008. The increase in MDD rates was found in all subgroups, which also indicates that the cause of it was an economic crisis. Economou et al. (2013) also provide information from similar studies that have found a correlation between MDD rates and financial crises in Canada, Hong Kong, and other places. Additionally, the authors cite studies on the correlation between low income and depression, which also indicate that people with lower socioeconomic status (SES) are prone to MDD. According to the article, there are also certain limitations that may reduce the objectivity of the results. Firstly, it is possible that participants with MDD exaggerated their poor financial condition, and it was not possible to assess the SES of all the participants. It should be noted that the causality between MDD and poor economic condition is also unclear, and there can be more factors contributing to the development of MDD during an economic crisis.
Annotated Bibliography FAQs
What is the difference between abstract and annotated bibliography?
An abstract is a brief summary of a work, usually about 150-300 words. An annotated bibliography is a list of citations with brief descriptions of the work. The annotation describes the main points of the work and how it can be used in research. It also evaluates the work’s strengths.
What are the 3 parts of an annotated bibliography?
The three parts of an annotated bibliography are the citation, annotation, and description. The citation is the full reference for the work, and the annotation is the brief description of the work. The description is a more detailed summary of the work. Sometimes evaluation is also considered a part of annotated bibliography.
How long is annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography can be as long or as short as you need it to be. The length will depend on the number of sources you are citing and the amount of information you need to include in the annotation. One annotated bibliography entry is usually about 150-300 words.
How many sources do you need for an annotated bibliography?
You will need at least one source for your annotated bibliography. However, the number of sources you need will depend on the assignment guidelines. Check with your instructor to see how many sources you need to include.
What is the difference between an annotated bibliography and a reference list?
A reference list is a list of citations for sources that you have used in your research. An annotated bibliography is a list of citations with brief descriptions of the work. The annotation describes the main points of the work and how it can be used in research. It also evaluates the work’s strengths.
What questions do you ask in annotated bibliography?
The questions you ask in your annotated bibliography will depend on the type of source you are citing. For a book, you might want to ask questions about the author’s qualifications, the book’s thesis, and the evidence the author uses to support their argument.
For a journal article, you might want to ask questions about the author’s research methods, the findings of the article, and how the article contributes to our understanding of the topic.
Does an annotated bibliography go at the end of a paper?
An annotated bibliography can go at the end of a paper, or it can be its own separate document. It will depend on your assignment guidelines. Check with your instructor to see where they would like you to place your annotated bibliography.
Does annotated bibliography need a conclusion?
No, an annotated bibliography does not need a conclusion.
