Annotated Bibliographies

What We’ll Cover

The Annotated Bibliography AssignmentDetermining Credible SourcesPutting Together the Annotated BibliographySummarizing Tips and ExamplesAnnotated Bibliography ExamplesIn-Class Exercises

The Annotated Bibliography Assignment

The Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Collect ten sources related to your topic At least three sources found using a database or databases on

the library’s website At least one peer-reviewed (academic) journal

Many, but not all, articles found in the library databases. Be careful

At least one hard copy source Book, journal, records of information (not LPs), etc. Journal article found on one of the library databases

You can use articles from websites as long as you can prove they are viable, credible sources

No sources under 500 words But these sources can be used in your research paper

Sources should provide a variety of perspectives on your issue

Exceptions . . .

The Annotated Bibliography Assignment (cont.)

List sources alphabetically by last name and using MLA works cited format We’ll cover this Monday

Summarize articleAssess articleExplain how you may use article in your

paper Include one quote from each article

Determining Credible Sources

Determining Credible Sources: Author

Determine if author is credible Does the article provide a brief bio Can you Google information about the person

Determine if author has a position on the issue Does the author’s stance effect the information he/she is

providing? If so, can you still use information? If so, how will acknowledge or integrate biases?

Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda? Are there broad sweeping generalizations? Is there information with no evidence to back it up? Is the argument one-sided or does it provide a variety of

viewpoints?

Determine is publisher is a credible source Do they have long history? Do other professionals refer to their publication?

Determine if publisher has a position on the issue NRA sources vs. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

sources Both may have good information, but how will you

account for their perspectives? Sometimes the bias isn’t as a clear.

Can you determine a bias based on tone, words, or phrases and how they are affecting the presentation of information?

Determining Credible Sources: Publisher

Is information still relevant or is out of date?Determine accuracy

What sources does the author use? Are they credible?

Does the author have a Works Cited section? If not, how does this affect the credibility of information and

article? If there is a Works Cited section:

Are they credible looking Can you find additional useful sources for your research?

Cross check information in article. Can you find similar information elsewhere? Can you find original source of information?

Is everybody referring to the same source, but the source doesn’t exist? (This happens often on the internet.)

Determining Credible Sources: Information

Length and Depth Is the article long enough to have depth and to

contribute anything new to the issue? If it does, then great If it’s 500 words or fewer, then you can’t use it for the

annotated bibliography But you can use it for the research paper.

Is it too long? Do you have time to read a whole book for this

assignment? Is better to just read the most relevant chapters?

Determining Credible Sources: Information (cont.)

Books Preface

What does the author want to accomplish? This will give you an overview of the book

Table of Contents and Index This will give you an overview of the book From here, you can determine if you topic is covered in

depth If you can’t find your topic, try looking using synonyms

for your topic

Determining Credible Sources: Information (cont.)

General and Specialized Sources General: Scientific America

This is good for overviews and general information about scientific topics, and it might be a very good starting place for some science issues.

This might give you a basic understanding of quantum physics.

Specialized: American Journal of Physics This is a good source for more detailed information of a

specific physics issues. This might give you information about the impact of quantum

chromodynamics and light-cone quantum mechanics on nuclear physics.

Determine audience of article. Will the language of this article be effective in your

research paper?

Determining Credible Sources: Information (cont.)

Is there a good mix of primary and secondary sources?

Primary sources Primary research is any type of research that you go

out and collect yourself. Surveys, interviews, and observations

You may not have primary sources depending on your issue

If your issue is of local concern, you may need primary sources

Using Credible Sources

Primary Sources (cont.) To determine if you need primary sources, ask

yourself: What do I want to discover? How do I plan on discovering it?

The answer to this question is referred to as “research methods” or “methodology.”

Who will I interview/observe/survey? (Who are your subjects or participants?)

How can gain access to a person or group of people? Do I have biases on this topic?

What are they? How can I keep my biases out of research methods? What do I expect to discover?

Using Credible Sources:Primary Sources

Secondary Sources Journals Magazines Documentaries News broadcasts Talk shows Newspapers Books

The text gives additional information about evaluating sources

Using Credible Sources:Secondary Sources

Credible Sources: Recap

You will need: A credible author A credible publisher Accuracy

Cross check Generalized or specialized sources Primary and secondary sources

Putting Together The Annotated Bibliography

1. Summary

After you read the article and determine if the source is worth using, then do three things: One: Write a summary of the article.

Note the thesis or argument. Note the main supporting arguments, especially ones

relating to your research. Be succinct.

In your research paper, you will need to be succinct when summarizing an article.

Do not dwell on details or too much description. Assess the article as a whole.

Is it effective and credible

2. How You Will Use Source

After you read the article and determine if the source is worth using, then do three things: Two: Write one paragraph describing how you might

use this article in your research paper. Point out valuable and insightful information. Point out how that information will help your argument.

Get directly to the point of relevancy. Contrary sources:

Find sources that disagree with your perspective. Indicate what is significant about their perspective and

how it made you reexamine your perspective. Include the information that you might use in your

research paper and how you will use it. Reflect on how an article can be useful

3. Include Quote

After you read the article and determine if the source is worth using, then do three things: Three: Include at least one quote and how it will be

useful to your argument.

Putting Together the Annotated Bibliography: RECAP

For each entry: Write summary of the article.

Summarize and assess the article. Write one paragraph describing how you might use

this article in your research paper. Reflect on its useful to your project.

Include at least one quote and how it will be useful to your argument.

Summarizing Tips and Examples

Four Tips to Summarizing an Article

1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.

2. Set the original aside and write your paraphrase on a note card.

3. Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.

4. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.

Paraphrasing Example

Original:Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.

Paraphrasing Example (cont.)

Legitimate Paraphrase:In research papers, students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

Acceptable Summary:Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

More Helpful Tips: Note Cards

Use notecard to keep track of sources Record the source (including the page number) on

your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Write down your paraphrase Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to

remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a keyword or phrase to

indicate the subject of your paraphrase.

Annotated Bibliography Examples

Annotated Bibliography: What to Include Recap

List sources alphabetically by last name and using MLA works cited format We’ll cover this Monday

Summarize articleAssess articleExplain how you may use article in your

paper Include one quote from each article and how you’ll

use it

Annotated Bibliography: Example One

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books, 1995. Print.

Lamott’s book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott’s book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one’s own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun. Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one’s own imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach.

Chapters in this text could easily be included in my curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion for my students’ own drafting and revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott’s style both engaging and enjoyable.

Annotated Bibliography: Example Two

Dubose, Mike S. “Holding Out for a Hero: Reaganism, Comic Book Vigilantes, and Captain America.” Journal of Popular Culture 40.6 (2007): 915-935. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Nov. 2008.

This article examines a sampling of super-heroes as they appeared in the 1980s and analyzes how they function as emblems of heroism in American popular culture. To accomplish this, the article first investigates the “intersections between morality, politics and conceptions of justice” particular to that decade in order to define the nature of lawful and vigilante heroes (916). Secondly, it uses an analysis of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s Watchmen to demonstrate two ways that the vigilante hero exists in relation to the current state of affairs. And thirdly, it looks at the portrayal of World War II hero Captain America in the Reagan-era, and how hero-status necessitated the definition of “oneself as an entity separate from the powers that be” and a transcendence of “traditional notions of law, order, and justice” (916). Essentially, it is found that superheroes in the eighties do not earn hero status through individual heroic actions as much as their feats are labeled as heroic in relation to systems of belief in order and justice, as opposed to a strict moral code.

Annotated Bibliography: Example Two (Cont.)

Dubose, Mike S. “Holding Out for a Hero: Reaganism, Comic Book Vigilantes, and Captain America.” Journal of Popular Culture 40.6 (2007): 915-935. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Nov. 2008.

At the time of publication, Mike S. Dubose was a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Toledo. His scholarship involves the “intersections of popular culture and dominant political identities in the 80s” (935). Appearing in a peer-reviewed academic journal, this scholarly article is well-researched with many examples cited, and the synthesis of ideas is well-thought out in terms of the relationship between comic book heroes and political ideologies of that decade. Dubose does a good job of covering the vigilante comic book hero by citing some of the more well-known examples, but the impossibility of covering every hero, in every permutation doesn’t undermine his argument. He sticks to major trends in both comic books and politics, and the result is an argument that offers an examination and analysis of those trends.

Annotated Bibliography: Example Two (Cont.)

Dubose, Mike S. “Holding Out for a Hero: Reaganism, Comic Book Vigilantes, and Captain America.” Journal of Popular Culture 40.6 (2007): 915-935. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Nov. 2008.

This will be a helpful resource for my project. It’s scholarly and credible, and full of good data for me to incorporate into my own argument. I will probably stick mostly to the parts where Dubose talks about Captain America in the eighties, but some of his other data about Daredevil and Batman might prove useful early on in my project to help me establish for the reader the relationship between popular culture icons and political ideology as it appears in cultural studies scholarship.

Keys to Successful Annotation

SummarizeAssessReflect

And for you assignment Include one quote and how you will use it

In-Class Exercises

In-Class Exercises

Romantic Circles (http://www.rc.umd.edu)Anne’s Anti-Quackery and Science Blog (

http://amr2you.blogspot.com/)NewsBusters (http://www.newsbusters.org/)Bits (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/)