The Annotated Bibliography

Project: The Annotated Bibliography

Objective:  Assess sources for your research for your final presentation (for credibility, reliability, and relevance) and list references in proper APA format. That means the sources you use for this assignment should be directly related to the species that you chose. 

Instructions:  The Research Project/Presentation for this class is divided into three major parts, 1) annotated bibliography, 2) outline and 3) final presentation. 

The first part is the annotated bibliography. An annotation is a summary and evaluation, and your annotated bibliography will include a summary and evaluation of some of the sources (or references) you will use for your presentation.

The reason the annotated bibliography is included as part of the research project is that writing an annotated bibliography is important in that it provides excellent preparation for the final presentation. One of the issues regarding any type of research, especially in biology, is the credibility of the sources used, particularly those obtained from various websites. By forcing you to evaluate each of your potential sources carefully, the annotated bibliography helps you determine if in fact the source you chose is credible and helps you determine how relevant it is to your topic and understand the topic better which will help you develop your presentation.

For part 1, you will assess three sources to include:

1) a complete citation for each source,

2) a summary of each source, and

3) an evaluation of each source. 

Three sources are required for part 1 (i.e., you are to write an annotation for each source).  However, you must use five or more sources in your final presentation. 

1. Citation:

          Written in APA reference list format. For more help with formatting, see APA handout.

1. Summary:

What is the purpose of the source, review article, original research? What topics are covered? This section is generally 4-6 sentences that summarize the author's main point. For more help, see this link on paraphrasing sources.

1. Evaluation:

After summarizing the article (or research paper or book), it is necessary to evaluate it and state where you found it – its source (e.g., journal, website, etc.).  Briefly answer the following questions in 4-6 sentences:

What is the format or type of source (e.g., peer-reviewed journal paper, website, book)? How reliable is the information in the article, and how credible is the source (e.g., website's sponsoring organization, journal or book publisher) and the author(s)?