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Getting Ready for Research

This guide provides an overview of basic research techniques and resources.

The Annotated Bibliography

Occasionally, when writing a research paper you may also be asked to create an annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that includes a brief note (about a paragraph) that describes a resource's usefulness. These notes, or annotations, are added to each citation and can help you determine whether or not a source is relevant to your topic. 

When creating an annotation for a source you should look at the following elements and then use your own words to create a brief, but meaningful note about the work. 

  • Content and Relevance: What is the information about, how much does it cover? Is it relevant to your research? Is there information the work doesn't address?
  • Purpose: Why was this information written? What is it for?
  • Origin: Where is the information from?
  • Usefulness: How can you use the information in your research?
  • Authority: Who wrote the information, what is their expertise?
  • Reliability: Is the information accurate?
  • Currency: Is the information up to date?
  • Organization and ease of use: How is the work organized? Is the information usable (e.g. does the book include tools such as an index, glossary, etc.).
Here is a sample annotation for a book source in MLA:

Lazer, David, editor. DNA and the Criminal Justice System: The Technology of Justice. MIT Press, 2004.

This book is a collection of fifteen articles on the usage of DNA in the Criminal Justice field. The book is divided into three main sections;  (I) Laying the Groundwork, (II) Balancing Privacy and Security and (III) The Coming Storm: Crime and Behavior Genetics. The articles are grouped with similar articles within these three categories. Each article is written by a different author. The authors come from various backgrounds within the Criminal Justice field (e.g. Judges, Professors, etc.) and appear to have some expertise on the matter they address. The organization and scope of this book is within  the introduction. There is a notes and works cited section at the end of each article. The book does include an index, but does not include a glossary. Overall, this book appears useful, but due to its age (2004), the information in the articles may now be out of date. I would only use this book in my research for historical or background information. 
Here is a sample annotation for a book source in APA:

Lazer, D. (Ed.). (2004). DNA and the criminal justice system: The technology of justice. MIT Press.

This book is a collection of fifteen articles on the usage of DNA in the Criminal Justice field. The book is divided into three main sections;  (I) Laying the Groundwork, (II) Balancing Privacy and Security and (III) The Coming Storm: Crime and Behavior Genetics. The articles are grouped with similar articles within these three categories. Each article is written by a different author. The authors come from various backgrounds within the Criminal Justice field (e.g. Judges, Professors, etc.) and appear to have some expertise on the matter they address. The organization and scope of this book is within  the introduction. There is a notes and works cited section at the end of each article. The book does include an index, but does not include a glossary. Overall, this book appears useful, but due to its age (2004), the information in the articles may now be out of date. I would only use this book in my research for historical or background information. 

The single paragraph annotation above includes a summary and evaluation of the text as well as the writer's own assessment as to the work's usefulness related to their project. If permitted or space allows, annotations may be lengthened to multiple paragraphs to allow for expanded descriptions. 

Annotated Bibliography Formatting:

All text within an annotated bibliography must be indented so that only the Author's last name in the citation is flush left (along the left margin). See above examples.

Tip:

Be sure to write meaningful annotations that accurately describe the resource. Annotated bibliographies can be helpful when working with a large number of sources. They can help you remember what each resource has to offer and whether it is relevant to your project. If you know that you will need to create an annotated bibliography, it is sometimes helps to keep notes as you go along.