What is annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography or annotated bib is a bibliography (a list of books or other works) that includes descriptive and evaluative comments about the sources cited in your paper. These comments are also known as annotations. In an annotated bibliography, each source in the list is followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph of 4-5 sentences.

Purpose

You may need to write an annotated bibliography for the following reasons:

·?????? To think through issues in a subject

·?????? To review the literature of a subject

·?????? To learn to evaluate research

·?????? To decide which research is relevant to your needs and make a list of summaries for later assessments

What are the 3 parts of an annotated bibliography?

The three different parts of an annotated bibliography include the title, annotation, and citation. The title and citation format will vary based on the style you use. The annotation can include a summary, evaluation, or reflection.

Steps to writing an annotated bibliography

1. Read the instructions carefully and analyse the topic.

2. Conduct research, select your sources and record the bibliographic details.

3. Critically read the sources and note key points, strengths and weaknesses.

4. Put away the originals and use your notes to write an annotation for each source.

5. Reread the original to make sure your annotation is accurate.

6. Arrange the annotations in alphabetical order by author

What is the difference between bibliography and annotated bibliography?

A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.). An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources.

What is CRAAP test in Annotated bibliography

CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Use the CRAAP Test to evaluate your sources.

Use the CRAAP test to choose your sources. Does the source have currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose?

Evaluating sources

Introduction and literature review

·?????? Is the hypothesis or aim of the research clear?

·?????? Do the researchers clearly show that their study

·?????? is meeting a need or filling a gap in our knowledge?

·?????? Do the researchers show how their study builds on previous research?

Results

·?????? Are data analysis tools identified?

·?????? Are the steps in the data analysis explained and justified?

·?????? Are the results relevant to the aim?

·?????? Are the results explained?

·?????? Do tables and graphs support the explanation?

Method

·?????? Is any theoretical framework explained and justified?

·?????? Is the study design made clear?

·?????? Is a rationale given for the chosen method?

·?????? How detailed is the methods section?

·?????? Do the researchers explain how they control variables?

Discussion and conclusions

·?????? Are conclusions supported by the results?

·?????? Do the researchers discuss the extent of their success?

·?????? Do the researchers discuss the limitations?

·?????? Does the discussion section contribute to scholarly debate on the topic?

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Useful language

Signpost language

Use signpost language to help your reader follow your ideas. For example:

This exploratory study aims to...

The authors explain that... The authors go on to analyse...

One strength/weakness is... Another is...

Tense

Use present tense to introduce the source, summarise the main arguments, and evaluate it.

? Use past tense to summarise research methods.

? Use future time to describe how you will use the source.

Reporting verbs

Use reporting verbs accurately. For example:

? The authors aim + to + verb The authors aim to identify a method to improve X.

? Ng (2022) claims + that + clause Ng (2022) claims that his method improves X.

? They analyse + noun phrase They analyse a new method.