LIS2004 Strategies for Online Research | Prof. Tiffany Walker

What is An Annotated Bibliography?

"An annotated bibliography is a type of student paper in which reference list entries are followed by short descriptions of the work called annotations. The annotations inform readers about the relevance and quality of the sources the writer has used" (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 3). 

Source: American Psychological Association. (2020). Concise guide to APA style : the official APA style guide for students (Seventh). American Psychological Association.

Guidelines

Final Course Project: Annotated Bibliography

Construct an annotated bibliography using five sources which support your topic and thesis statement/research question. The annotated bibliography will consist of accurate and complete citations in APA style for each source with an annotation describing why the source is suitable and relevant. The annotated bibliography should adhere to the formatting standards for the style guide used.

1. Include your topic and thesis statement/research question.
2. Select five different sources that you think provide the most authoritative information about your topic and support or refute your thesis statement/research question. Three of your sources must be from Miami Dade College Library collection (database journal articles, ebooks).The remaining two sources may be from the Web, but they must be credible. 
3. Use the ACT UP evaluation method covered in Lesson 5, and what you've learned about evaluating sources in this course to evaluate the sources you have selected. Use the information in Lesson 6 to construct citations for each source. Pay close attention to the proper placement of punctuation and italics. You will lose points if your material is not cited properly. Use the resources available to you wisely. There is an APA Style Libguide, the Official APA Style Website published by the American Psychological Association, and librarians at your disposal.
4. Beneath each citation, include an annotation describing the source. The annotation should provide a summary of the source, including what was investigated or presented. Your annotation will be as long (or short) as necessary to answer each of these questions and provide the required information:
   • What are the main points, finding, or claims made by the author(s)?
   • Information regarding the source's relevance to your thesis statement/research question
   • What questions does it answer about your topic or which of your points does it support?
   • Your evaluation of the source (author, currency, truth, unbias, privilege)
5. Use the examples in Project Samples as a general guideline for completing your project.

6. Pay attention to grammar, punctuation and spelling when writing your annotations. Writing tutors are available and ready to help you, simply head over to the Writing Tutoring page to meet with a tutor.

Sample Annotated Bibliography

Click on the documents below to see examples of annotated bibliographies in APA format. These are only examples and do not contain everything that is being required for your Final Project. Refer back to your assignment guidelines throughout your time working on this project to ensure all requirements are met.