INTRNAR 200: World Current Events

A bibliography at the end of a research paper, article, or book lists the sources used during the writing and research process. Each entry is a full bibliographic citation which provides basic publication information about each source, e.g., author, title, publisher, date and page numbers. This helps readers locate those original sources for more information. The title of the bibliography varies, depending on the citation style used, but may be Works Consulted, Works Cited, or References.

An annotated bibliography is more substantive. In addition to the citations for the sources used, a short annotation of each source is provided. The content of an annotation varies. It might summarize, evaluate, and/or critique a source, among other things. The length of an annotation also varies, but is generally just a few sentences or a paragraph. The citation style used to create the annotated bibliography (APA, MLA, Turabian, etc.) is up to your professor.

The following web sites provide some additional information. Because the format, content and length of annotations vary, please ask your professor for guidelines to follow when beginning your assignment.

• Annotated Bibliographies - (Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), Purdue University)
  Definitions of and reasons for an annotated bibliography, and brief information on what an annotation might contain. Examples of APA, MLA, Chicago style annotated bibliography entries.
• Annotated Bibliography - (The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  Provides explanations of four different types of annotations: indicative, informative, evaluative, and combination, with an example of each (see the "What Goes Into the Content of the Annotations" link). Also includes a brief discussion on what formatting style and writing style to use.
• Bibliographies - (University of Kansas Writing Center)
  See section on writing an Annotated Bibliography. Brief explanation of an annotated bibliography, along with information on two types of entries: descriptive and evaluative. An example of each type is given.
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography - (Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University)
  A brief explanation of what an annotated bibliography is, as well as an example annotated entry for a journal article in both APA and MLA styles.
• Write an Annotated Bibliography - (University Library, University of California-Santa Cruz)
  Information on the composition and purpose of an annotated bibliography. Examples of annotated entries in two writing styles—phrase style and complete-sentence style—are given.

The function of a literature review is to address the previous research that has been done on a particular subject. This previous research serves as a foundation for you to develop your own unique hypothesis. One of the motivations for conducting a literature review is to ensure the argument you plan to present has not been presented before. This page includes techniques for finding articles for your literature review, as well as an explanation of "peer reviewed," or "scholarly," works.

For an in-depth explanation of the writing process for a literature review, check out this webpage from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill's Writing Center.

There are several ways to go about finding articles for your literature review. It's a good idea to try each approach so that you get a well-rounded view of the subject area you are researching.

• Identify Seminal Works: Try to find the seminal, or most important, works on the subject. What articles are cited by other articles over and over again? You can also ascertain how important a work is by looking at its citation count. Search for the article in question using Web of Science or Google Scholar, then take a look at the number next to the "Times Cited" or "Cited by" links. The larger the number, the more times it has been cited by others.

• Forward Search: You can also click the "Cited by" link in Google Scholar to find other relevant articles on your subject. If another article has cited an article you found to be useful, they are probably on similar topics. This is called forward searching. Click here to view a brief demonstration. This video includes audio explanations.
   
• Backward Search: Whenever you find a relevant article, take a look at its reference list. The articles listed are likely to be related to your subject, too. Also, you may start to see the same authors repeatedly. This should indicate that those individuals are important scholars in this field, and you should attempt to find the research they have done, too. This method is called backward searching. Click here to view a brief demonstration of citation searching using Research@UWW.
   
• Search Subject-specific Databases: Search databases that specialize in your research topic. See the Finding Articles tab for a listing by subject.