Week 10: Writing an Annotated Bibliography and Searching for Outside Sources

Introduction

This week you will complete an annotated bibliography for your academic report assignment. An annotated bibliography is an important step in creating your report assignment as it allows you to reflect on your use of outside sources before completing your first draft. In creating your annotated bibliography, you will work towards not only selecting the sources that you will cite throughout your assignment but also reflect on how useful they will be and how/ where they will fit into your assignment.

Required Textbook Readings:

  •  LEAP: pg. 21-22, 200-202, 207, 289-292

Covered This Week:

 Part A. How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is similar to the final reference page of your assignment because it lists the main sources used as research in your assignment in APA style and in alphabetical order. The main difference is that you will also complete a summary and explanation of each source. Another difference is that an annotated bibliography is normally completed before writing your assignment. Here, your annotated bibliography will be completed in preparation for your academic report assignment and will be submitted before the academic report. Completing your annotated bibliography first allows you to:

  • Conduct your research and familiarize yourself with your assignment topic before writing
  • Narrow down your sources to only those that are the most relevant and useful to your individual assignment topic
  • Evaluate your sources for usefulness and strengths and weaknesses
  • Think about how you will use these sources in your assignment
    • In which sections of your assignment will each source be most useful?

The sources used in your annotated bibliography will also appear in the “references” section of your academic report.

An annotated bibliography has two main parts:

  1. The full reference
    • This is the citation for the outside source cited using APA style
  1. The annotation
    • This is the description of the reference that normally contains:
      • Background information about the source or the author
        • Qualifications of the author or institution 
        • Information about the importance of the source
        • Evaluation of the reliability of your source
      • A brief summary of the source
      • How you will use the source in your assignment
    • For your annotated bibliography, each annotation will be about 75 words in length. This will require you to be concise as you summarize and analyze the usefulness of each text.
Sample section of an annotated bibliography including the full reference and annotation of one source:
  • A citation to the article, chapter, or other work
  • Qualifications of the author (=background information)
  • A summary of the argument and/or findings
  • Evaluation of the work or its reliability, for example the logic of the arguments or value of the evidence
  • How this work will be used in your own assignment
wk 10 annotated bib ex

When writing your annotated bibliography, remember to:

  • Include at least three sources with a full APA reference and annotation for each source
  • Use a hanging indent for your APA reference
  • Indent the first line of the annotation
  • Use a BRIEF annotation that includes the three pieces of information:
  • Background about the author and source (including reliability of the source)
  • A brief summary of the most important information in the source
  • How you will use the source in your assignment (why it is useful and in which section of your assignment you will cite this source)
  • Note: it is not necessary to double space your annotation

Practice Finding Sources

Instructions: Find a useful source on the academic report topic given in the assignment page that you would like to share with your classmates. A good starting place is the University of Waterloo website. Once you have selected a source, create a Padlet post in the board below that includes a full APA reference for the source (in the post title) and a short description of the information included in the source.

You may select one of these sources to use in your annotated bibliography if you wish.

Part B. How to Select your Outside Sources

In order to write an effective Annotated Bibliography, you need to narrow down your research to focus on the three most useful important sources to your assignment. This will require you to evaluate both the reliability and usefulness of each source.

In order for an outside source to be an acceptable resource to use in an academic assignment or publication, it must be a reliable source. One way to ensure that your source is reliable is to access this source from the University of Waterloo library database. The articles and books found here are all considered reliable enough to be cited in any assignment at the university level.

It is time to familiarize yourself with the University of Waterloo library resources. This video will show you how to use Primo Central, our library database that will give you access to articles, books, and other resources available to all University of Waterloo students. Many of these articles can be found online and accessed off campus by signing in with your library card information.

UWlibrary. (2013, January 24). Primo Central: An Introduction. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGLKSMqQAvk

Another way to tell if a source is reliable is to check if the article is peer reviewed. Peer reviewed journal articles are considered the most reliable sources because they have been approved by other experts in a particular field of study.

For sources that are not from the University of Waterloo library database or peer reviewed, you can use the CRAAP test to challenge the reliability of the source:  

The C.R.A.A.P. Test
C
 Currency: The timeliness of the information.

  • When was the information published or posted? Revised or updated?

  • Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?
R

 Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs.

  • Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?

  • Who is the intended audience? / an appropriate level? 
A

Authority: The source of the information.

  • Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?

  • What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations?
A

 Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content.

  • Where does the information come from? / supported by evidence?

  • Has the information been reviewed or refereed?

  • Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
P

Purpose: The reason the information exists.

  • What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?

  • Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?

  • Are there political, religious, institutional or personal biases?

Academic English UK (2018)

This CRAAP test offers a series of questions that you can use to challenge each source. If the source meets the majority of the criteria, then it is acceptable to use in your assignment. Here is a video describing the CRAAP test in more detail:

Columbus State Library. (2013, July 18). Evaluating Sources. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKaH7PlXx1Q

wk10-CRAAP-worksheet
After ensuring the sources you are considering are academic by using the CRAAP test, you can begin to narrow down your sources to the three most important sources for your essay. Here are some ways you can select the most essential sources:
  • Select sources that are most directly related to your assignment topic
  • Select sources that clearly fit into a specific section of your assignment
  • Find sources that support different sections of your assignment
  • Avoid focusing on sources that duplicate information ore are very similar in your annotated bibliography
  • If two or more sources repeat the same ideas, select the strongest source

Test Yourself

In the following types of sources, select the least reliable sources according to the CRAAP method:

Open all / Close all

Blogs are one of the least reliable because they are usually written by a single person and ideas are usually not reviewed or checked by others before posting. Blogs that belong to an institution, such as a government agency or the University of Waterloo Writing Centre, for example, are more acceptable to use as an outside source.
Although these are not peer reviewed, they were still selected for publishing and checked by the publishers of the academic journal. The reputation of the journal or publishing association is important here. However, these are acceptable sources to use at the undergraduate university level.
Magazines are not always academic, but are published by an organization and havegone through an editing process. The Times and Macleans are examples of academic magazines. The reputation of the publishing organization is important here.
Books are almost always considered acceptable academic sources because of the publishing and editing process.
Advertisements are one of the least reliable sources because they are considered to have a bias as companies may prioritize the ideas that sell their products rather than objective information. Note that many websites and articles found online are written by organizations that sell products, and this may only be apparent after researching the website.
Acceptable academic source.
Acceptable academic source.
These are usually acceptable depending on the reputation of the institution. For example, information found on The University of Waterloo website may be cited in your assignments.
Social media posts are one of the least reliable sources. These posts, such as Facebook or Instagram posts, while they can be informative, are usually not academic and a more reliable source that contains this information must be traced. Often this information can be exaggerated or intended to shock an audience.
Wikipedia is also one of the least reliable sources as information can be written by any user. Do not cite Wikipedia in an academic assignment.

A note about Wikipedia

Although this is an encyclopedia and does provide useful background information when researching a new topic, it is not an academic source because the information is not reliable. Wikipedia entries can be written or edited by any user online. It is not validated or checked by anyone. Information on Wikipedia may be incorrect.

Wikipedia may still be a useful starting point for your research. However, if you wish to cite this information, you should refer to the full reference list at the bottom of each entry; here, you can refer to the original source that contains this information and can then cite this original source.

Part C. Assignments

This week you will be completing the Error Record Reflection for your third assignment. See the Assignment 3: Compare/Contrast page for more information.

You will also be completing an annotated bibliography, including three full references and three annotations, for your academic report. Your annotated bibliography will be submitted in full APA style with a title page and the references appearing in alphabetical order. See the Assignment 4: Academic Report page for more information.

References

Universtiy of Alberta Library. (2020). Parts of an Annotation. Retrieved from: https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/research-writing/annotated-bibliographies 

Academic English UK. (2018). Evaluating Sources. Retrieved from: https://www.academic-englishuk.com/evaluating-sources

Studylib.net. (2020). CRAAP Test Worksheet. Retrieved from: https://studylib.net/doc/8267365/the-craap-test-worksheet