Subject Guide
Subject Guide
What is an annotated bibliography?
Description
An annotated bibliography is a list of sources (books, articles, websites, etc.) with short paragraph about each source. Students writing a thesis or dissertation are often assigned to write an annotated bibliography as a prototype before writing their literature review chapter.
Each source in the annotated bibliography has a citation - the information a reader needs to find the original source, in a consistent format to make that easier. These consistent formats are called citation styles. Education programs use APA (American Psychological Association).
Annotations are about 4 to 6 sentences long (roughly 150 words), and address:
- Main focus or purpose of the work
- Usefulness or relevance to your research topic
- Special features of the work that were unique or helpful
- Background and credibility of the author
- Conclusions or observations reached by the author
- Conclusions or observations reached by you
Annotations versus Abstracts
Many scholarly articles start with an abstract, which is the author's summary of the article to help you decide whether you should read the entire article. This abstract is not the same thing as an annotation. The annotation needs to be in your own words, to explain the relevance of the source to your particular assignment or research question.
Refer to Basham, Sherah L., Vivian P. Radcliff, and Sara L. Bryson. “How to Write an Annotated Bibliography.” Journal of Criminal Justice Education (2022): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2022.2131859 for a concise explanation of how to construct an annotated bibliography.
Examples
Book
Ontiveros argues that the arts provide an expression of the Chicano movement that circumvents neoliberalism and connects historic struggles to current lived experience. Chicano artists have integrated environmentalism and feminism with the Chicano movement in print media, visual arts, theater, and novels since the 1970s. While focused on art, this book also provides a history of the coalition politics connecting the Chicano movement to other social justice struggles.
Journal article
Alvarez, N. & Mearns, J. (2014). The benefits of writing and performing in the spoken word poetry community. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 41(3), 263-268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2014.03.004
Prior research has shown narrative writing to help with making meaning out of trauma. This article uses grounded theory to analyze semi-structured interviews with ten spoken word poets. Because spoken word poetry is performed live, it creates personal and community connections that enhance the emotional development and resolution offered by the practice of writing. The findings are limited by the small, nonrandom sample (all the participants were from the same community).
What is a literature review?
Types of Literature Reviews
When someone refers to a literature review, they may mean either:
- one chapter of a thesis or dissertation that compiles references (sources) in a selected field of study that relates to the research question, or
- an ongoing process that helps you formulate a research question, research methodology, and how you analyze and interpret the data you collect.
Process for Conducting Literature Review Research
1. Develop a Broad Overview by consulting resources to learn general information about a concept or about a context (e.g., the history of public education in the United States, methods for teaching English as a foreign language).
2. Search for Information by using core research resources in the field of education to focus your topic (e.g. the impact of John Dewey and the progressive education movement, teaching English writing skills to students in Venezuela).
3. Interact with Information to develop skills and strategies that will help you remember, understand, and assimilate new information.
4. Form Research Question using a checklist of the key components of a good research question.
5. Cite Sources using the APA style manual.
Books on the Literature Review and Writing Process
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A Counselor's Guide to the Dissertation Process
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Provides tips for staying motivated, time management, and self-care; selecting a dissertation committee and narrowing down the topic; writing a proposal; preparing the literature review; creating the problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions; understanding research methodology and ethics; collecting and analyzing data; and presenting results -
Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language
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Written for students whose primary language is not English as they work on writing a thesis or dissertation in English. -
Successful Dissertations: The Complete Guide for Education, Childhood and Early Childhood Studies Students
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Research guide for all undergraduate researchers starting a dissertation project in an Education department. -
During the Dissertation
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Designed as a companion for doctoral dissertation writers of qualitative or mixed methods work in fields related to language education. -
Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation
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Written for students whose earlier college lives did not prepare them for the rules of the academic game. Explains what a dissertation looks like, how it gets that way, and what options are available. -
Revise: the scholar-writer's essential guide to tweaking, editing, and perfecting your manuscript
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How to read and revise your own writing, spot editorial issues, and transform a draft from passable to great.
