At some stage in most postgrad programs, students will need to complete an Annotated Bibliography.
The style, format, content and purpose of an annotated bibliography differs depending on intent, discipline, timing and approach.
I completed an Ann Bib of 15 key feminist New Materialism articles when I reframed my PhD theoretical framework.
It was a very valuable exercise. Not only did it require me to be judicious in selecting the articles, I put to work a different set of reading skills, applied critical appraisal to each, achieved a deep learning about the topic, and it formed to guts of my dissertation’s Theoretical Perspectives (Chapter 3).
Some of my Postgrad students have been asking about how to do an Annotated Bibliography – so here are some ideas on how to approach it.
What is an annotated bibliography?
Annotation = notes (critical notes and evaluative comments)
Bibliography = a list of readings/research sources
An annotated bibliography is a summary account of the available empirical research and literature on a specific topic.
As well as a general outline of the research source, it also includes your own concise analysis, reflections, critiques, evaluation or any other comments and notes of each source as to how the source is linked/useful for your own research project.
Devising an Annotated Bibliography
If you go online (academic websites and YouTube are a good place to start) there is a plethora of information about on how to do an Annotated Bibliography.
One quick caveat regarding the information below.
There is no one way to do an annotated bibliography.
The following format is my own enmeshed format that suits my interest, needs and style. The content, length and focus for your purpose may differ – so be sure to do you own homework and experiment.
If you are doing an Anno Bib for a uni course – make sure you consult your supervisor, tutor or manager to see how/what elements best suit your project or what style they recommend.
I developed my own format based on three imputs: my own ideas/needs, some ideas gleamed from Prof Robert Talbert, and info from UNSW
1. My Enmeshed Annotated Bibliography
I wanted a longer format Anno Bib because I was reading complex theoretical and praxis articles in-depth.
I included a few additional elements: what type of article it is, how many times it has been cited, my own questions the article raised, interesting terms/concepts and vocab with the page number included for quick referencing if needed later.
Here are the elements in my Anno Bib.
- Full APA Reference details
- Article: This is a (style/type) article*. This article has been cited XXX times.
- The context is …
- The ‘big’ guiding question/s from this field this paper is addressing is …
- The Lit Review background focuses …
- The specific RQ of this article is …
- The methods used…
- The authors conclude/results are that ..
- The strengths of this text is ..
- However, the limitations are ..
- The authors did/not answer the RQ they posed by… (optional)…
- Some unique or helpful special features of this article were ..
- Other relevance or usefulness …
- How this paper relates to my study …
- Useful ideas or key terms …
- Ideas & Questions …
* The style or type of article are:
- Data-driven papers
- Theory building/ Theory testing
- Conscious raising papers
- Agenda Setting papers
- Position papers
- Methodology
- Review article – comprehensive summary of research on a certain topic
- Perspective, opinion, and commentary – presents the author’s viewpoint on the interpretation, analysis, or methods used in a particular study
- Original research – hypothesis, background study, methods, results, interpretation of findings, and a discussion of possible implications
- Clinical case study/Clinical trial
2. Prof Robert Talbert
Prof. Robert Talbert is one of my favorite academic bloggers (alongside Dr Inger Mewburn of the Thesis Whisper and Dr Pat Thompson at Patter).
Prof. Talbert uses a Get Things Done! (GTD) approach to reading research articles, which I find very productive, so I’ve gleamed a few ideas from his approach.
Here’s an example of Prof. Talbert’s approach.
3. UNSW
UNSW recommends that contents of an annotated bibliography can contain all or part of these elements (depending on the word limit and the content of the sources).
- Provide the full bibliographic citation
- Indicate the background of the author(s)
- Indicate the content or scope of the text
- Outline the main argument
- Indicate the intended audience
- Identify the research methods (if applicable)
- Identify any conclusions made by the author/s
- Discuss the reliability of the text
- Highlight any special features of the text that were unique or helpful (charts, graphs etc.)
- Discuss the relevance or usefulness of the text for your research
- Point out in what way the text relates to themes or concepts in your course
- State the strengths and limitations of the text
- Present your view or reaction to the text
This is a comprehensive approach to critically reading literature. I like the idea of including the background of the author – which is good for tracing a concept’s genealogy or the development of a prominent author’s argument.
Here’s a UNSW example of an Anno Bib, but for postgrad or PhD purposes, this is far too simplistic, but you can see the general idea/format.
There are as many ways to do an annotated bibliography as there are students. Have an explore online to see what elements you need to include – and be sure to talk others (especially a supervisor or tutor) on other recommended formats.
Undertaking and annotated bibliography is a very worthwhile activity to get to know a topic in detail – and it is a very necessary and sought-after advanced academic skill.
Best of luck if you are conducting an annotated bibliography!