Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review Basics Jessica Barron Writing Tutor Writing Center Walden University Hello, everyone, and welcome to the.

Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review Basics Jessica Barron Writing Tutor Writing Center Walden University Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Writing Center’s presentation of Annotated Bibliographies and Literature Review Basics. My name is Jessica Barron, and I will be your presenter for this evening. This presentation will be about 30 – 45 minutes in length, and I’ll be sure to leave time for questions at the end. If you have any questions during the presentation, feel free to use the Q and A box on the right hand side of the screen to type in questions as you think of them, and I will also answer these questions at the end of the presentation. Do know that this presentation will be recorded and then placed on the Webinar Archive page of our website, so you can always watch it again if you need to. The slides will also be available for you to download and keep for your records.

Session Overview What are annotated bibliographies and literature reviews? Overview of purpose Expectations for format and organization Strategies to fulfilling expectations In this webinar, we’ll be discussing two types of scholarly assignments: annotated bibliographies and literature reviews. We will include information on the function of these two assignments, the usual expectations for their formatting and organization, and at the end, we’ll discuss some strategies and tools you as a student can use to properly fulfill these assignment expectations.

You might also hear or see
Session Vocabulary You might also hear or see Annotated bib or Annotation Lit review All of these terms are synonymous with annotated bibliographies or literature reviews. Do note that throughout the presentation, and within your coursework, you may hear terms like annotated bib, annotation, or lit review. [CLICK] Know that annotated bib and annotation are other ways to refer to elements in an annotated bibliography, and lit review is a shortened way to say literature review.

Annotated Bibliographies
What does the term mean? According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary (2011), Annotate: “to make or furnish critical or explanatory notes or comment” Bibliography: “the history, identification, or description of writings or publications” How do these definitions combine? Now that we have some vocabulary terms settled, let’s first begin with the term annotated bibliography. We at the Writing Center often receive questions from students on what this term means, so let’s break it down: According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, the verb “annotate” means “to make or furnish critical or explanatory notes or comment.” The words to pick out of this definition are “critical, explanatory, and notes.” As for the term bibliography, this term is defined as “the history, identification, or description of writings or publications.” So, if we are to combine these terms together, we can determine that an annotated bibliography is a collection of explanatory, critical notes on a list of sources. You could also think of this term to refer to a reference list with a chunk of text below each entry that describes the nature of that source.

The purpose of an annotation bibliography is To learn about a particular topic To demonstrate the value of a particular source To inform fellow or future researchers about a topic or a source Before we get into how to create an annotated bib, writers do need to understand the purpose of the assignment. Without knowing why you are writing an annotated bib, your assignment might not be fulfilling the expectations of your instructor. Overall, there can be many functions of an annotated bib. As a reader, you might want to seek out an annotated bibliography to learn about a specific topic. As a writer, however, creating a annotated bib will allow you to demonstrate the value (or lack of value) of a particular source and to help inform future researchers about a source or topic.

The format of an annotated bibliography can change depending on the assignment, but the typical format is a list of reference entries followed by annotations. Alphabetized by author No headings Brief Be sure to ask your instructor about any alternative expectations for your specific assignment. One of the primary questions we at the Writing Center receive about annotated bibliographies is how to format them. Understanding the format of an annotated bib can be the first step in your prewriting process. Essentially, while the format can change depending your specific assignment, an annotated bibliography is formatted as a list of alphabetized reference entries (think of how a typical course paper reference list would look), with each entry followed by an annotation. There are typically no headings to separate the sources or within the annotations, and each annotation should be brief (anywhere from one to two pages). [CLICK] While these formatting requirements are typical for annotated bibs, be sure to ask your instructor about any alternative expectations for your specific assignment.

Here is a visual representation of a portion of an annotated bibliography. [CLICK] You will notice the annotation begins with a reference citation, followed immediately by the first line of text. This reference citation should be in typical APA formatting (for example, double spaced, using a hanging indent, and so forth). This first annotation is concise and is only about one page in length. [CLICK] Typically, you will want subsequent annotations to begin immediately following the previous one. Note that there are no spaces or headings between the end of this first annotation and the new reference entry of the next.

Within each annotation, there are typically three elements: Summary Critique/analysis Application These elements can often be formatted as three paragraphs. Now that we have the overall formatting down, let’s get into the nitty gritty details about what an “annotation” is and what is entailed within this text that follows the reference entry. As you begin to construct your annotation, you will focus on three elements: a summary of the source, a critical analysis of the source, and an explanation of how that source applies to your particular topic. To ensure that you fully develop each part of the annotation, instructors will usually ask for each element to be in its own paragraph.

Summary You will want to answer some or all the following questions: What is the topic of the source? What actions did the author perform within the study and why? What were the methods of the author? What was the theoretical basis for the study? What were the conclusions of the study? Let’s start with the summary element. After reading a source and determining how it would fit into your research or topic, your natural instinct is to, typically, summarize the source. When creating a summary paragraph for an annotation, some questions to answer and include within your summary paragraph could be: What is the topic of the source? What actions did the author perform within the study and why? What were the methods of the author? What was the theoretical basis for the study? What were the conclusions of the study? These questions hit at all key elements of a study and give your reader a high level view of that source.

How to approach a summary: Similar to an abstract of a source In the past tense “The authors found…” Not the abstract of an article Should be written in your own words Just like answering those questions, some strategies to creating a summary paragraph are to think of it like an abstract, which introduces the topic, development, and conclusions of an article. However, you will want your phrasing of the summary to be in the past tense per APA 3.06 preferences, using phrases like “The authors found…” or “stated.” Do note, though, that a summary paragraph should not be the exact abstract of the article. Avoid the temptation to copy/paste the abstract information into an annotation and instead summarize the source in your own words.

Example Summary: Gathman, A. C., & Nessan, C. L. (1997). Fowler’s stages of faith development in an honors science-and-religion seminar. Zygon, 32(3), 407–414. Retrieved from .zygonjournal.org/ The authors described the construction and rationale of an honors course in science and religion that was pedagogically based on Lawson’s learning cycle model. In Lawson’s model, the student writes a short paper on a subject before a presentation of the material and then writes a longer paper reevaluating and supporting his or her views. Using content analysis, the authors compared the answers in the first and second essays, evaluating them based on Fowler’s stages of development. Examples of student writing are presented with the authors’ analysis of the faith stage exhibited by the students, which demonstrated development in stages 2 through 5. Let’s take a look at this sample summary paragraph of an annotation. Note: these elements, like the reference entry and text, will be double spaced for the final paper. I won’t read this entire paragraph to you, but I’ll quickly highlight what the author is doing here. [CLICK] First, this opening line of the annotation immediately discuss the topic and purpose of the article. The reader does not have to dig through a lot of background information to get to the “meat” of the summary. [CLICK] Also, this writer briefly refers to the method, data collection, and analysis of the material that these authors included in the article. This student included all of these elements into one or two sentences, which allows the reader to quickly move into the conclusions of the article. [CLICK] These conclusions are also mentioned in this summary paragraph at the end, and this student takes particular care to mention the results of the study and their overall implication to the study.

Critique/Analysis You will want to answer some or all the following questions: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the article? Methodology, language choices, organization, level of detail What, if any, information is missing? Is the article scholarly or generalizable? Why or why not? The next element to a successful annotation is the critique or analysis portion. This aspect is often neglected by students, but this paragraph can be the most important to you as the researcher and to your reader. To help create this paragraph, try answering the following questions: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the article? Methodology, language choices, organization, level of detail What, if any, information is missing? Is the article scholarly or generalizable? Why or why not?

How to approach a critique/analysis: Focus on strengths of the article or study What would make your reader want to read this source? Do not feel the need to be nice Your reader will want to know if there are any deficiencies or areas for improvement There are also some ways to approach your critique outside of these questions, and the best way to ensure you don’t forget to include this part to the annotation is to focus on the strengths. Highlighting these strengths will help an outside reader understand the impact and influence this source has on your research field, and this approach can also help you remember to revisit this source as you develop your own study and want to know what works best. However, students often will feel the need to be “nice” to the author in the analysis paragraph just because the article has been peer reviewed or published. Remember, though, that the majority of published authors in the social science field were once students, and just like a capstone or final project for a course, there can also be room for revision or areas for improvement. If you wished that the author had place more emphasis on a particular result or included more tables in the article to aid readability, feel free to refer to these missing elements and explain how they could have improved the source. That way, your reader will know that you not only engaged with the topic of the article but also the method and mode of the written aspect.

Example Critique/Analysis: The authors made no mention of how to support spiritual development in the course. They were interested in the interface between religion and science, teaching material on ways of knowing, creation myths, evolutionary theory, and ethics. They exposed students to Fowler’s ideas, but did not relate the faith development theory to student work in the classroom. There appears to have been no effort to modify the course content based on the predominant stage of development, and it is probably a credit to their teaching that they were able to conduct such a course with such diversity in student faith development. However, since Fowler’s work is based largely within a Western Christian setting, some attention to differences in faith among class members would have been a useful addition to the study. There was no correlation between grades and level of faith development. Using this approach, here’s an example analysis paragraph in an annotated bibliography. [CLICK] The student here notes an aspect of the article where information was lacking. Similarly, [CLICK] at the end of the paragraph, the student mentions what could have been added or improved in the study but is being constructive in the approach.

Application You will want to answer some or all the following questions: Does this article fill a gap in literature? How would you be able to apply this method to your area of focus? Is the article universal? The final element to an annotation is the application portion. This element can be just as tricky as the analysis part, as it requires you as the writer to view a source not just by methods or written quality but as a piece of literature in the broader field of research. To do so, you will want to answer these types of questions: Does this article fill a gap in literature? How would you be able to apply this method to your area of focus? Is the article universal? Don’t feel any pressure to “get it right,” though. Remember this annotation is your interpretation of the applicability of a source, so as long as you have support to back up your claims, your reader will understand your rationale for this annotation element.

How to approach the application: Consider how you would justify the use of the source for your paper How is this source different than others in the same field or on the same topic? How does this source inform your future research? When creating the application paragraph, which is often the shortest paragraph in an annotation, consider how you would justify using (or not using) a particular source for your research. Focusing on the unique elements of a source, such as population or method, will help you collect a series of diverse sources on your topic. Similarly, though, if a source is too unique or too narrow, include these limitations in your text. In addition, this application portion should hint at how this source would justify the need for your own research, such as if an author mentioned how to build upon a study or where the field as a whole needs more data.

Example Application: Fowler’s work would seem to lend itself to research of this sort, but this model is the only example found in recent literature. This study demonstrates the best use of the model, which is assessment. While the theory claimed high predictive ability, the change process chronicled is so slow and idiosyncratic that it would be difficult to design and implement research that had as its goal measurement of movement in faith development continuum. These three elements create an annotation. Let’s take a look at this example application paragraph. You may notice that, when compared to the previous two paragraphs, it is the shortest. [CLICK] here, the student mentions how this article and approach is unique within the literature. [CLICK] Also, the student ends with a discussion on the universal nature of the source and why (or why not) it would be beneficial to the student’s own research or topic. [CLICK] These three elements, summary, critique, and application, create an “annotation.”

There are some unique characteristics of which to be aware regarding annotations: No citations crediting the source or outside sources The presence of the reference entry make citation redundant No direct quotes Your reader will want to hear your interpretation of the material No referrals to the first person Be objective and removed in your description of the source No reference list All sources have already been included in the reference list format Again, be sure to contact your instructor for his/her expectations for your particular assignment. When constructing these annotations, do know that there are some unique characteristics of which to be aware, and these characteristics do differ from typically coursework expectations. First, there is no need to cite your source within your annotation; the reference entry that begins the annotation will let your reader know to what source you are referring (which, in essence, is what a citation is supposed to do). Also, you will want to avoid including any outside source citations. Each annotation should purely focus on what is housed within that source, and comparing/contrasting sources should be saved for a literature review (which we’ll get to soon). Second, direct quotes should not be present in an annotation. This text is intended for you as the author to demonstrate the value of a source, so paraphrasing is key. You will also want avoid references to yourself or the first person (like I, my, or mine). An annotation should be objective and, just like the guideline to only paraphrase, should just focus on the validity of the source in regard to the overall field. And lastly, you will typically not have to include a reference list for an annotated bibliography, as each source has already been included in its APA format. However, if an annotated bibliography is a part of a longer document, there may be different requirements for that assignment, so contact your instructor for his or her preferences.

Annotations and Lit Reviews
How does an annotation relate to a literature review? An annotated bibliography is often a precursor to a literature review, as it allows an author to collect sources and determine their value to a particular topic or area of research. In a literature review, the author uses the sources to create a foundation for his/her research. Now that we know the purpose and format of an annotated bibliography, how does this assignment relate to a literature review? [CLICK] Well, an annotated bibliography is often the first step to creating a literature review, as it will allow you to collect sources and determine their value to your research. [CLICK] In a lit review, however, you will use these sources together to create a foundation or justification for your research.

The purpose of a literature review is
Literature Reviews The purpose of a literature review is To provide researchers with an overview on a topic or field To allow a writer to demonstrate his/her knowledge on the current state of a topic To support a writer’s future research With this relationship between an annotated bibliography and a literature review, we can know that the purpose of a lit review is to provide readers with an overview on a topic (what a great way to be introduced to a topic!). As a writer, though, a literature review can help demonstrate your knowledge on the current state of a field, such as what has already been done or what has been found. Then, with that knowledge, you can use this compilation of literature to demonstrate the need for future research, specifically, your future research.

What is not a literature review?
Literature Reviews What is not a literature review? A collection of source summaries or abstracts A copy/paste of annotations A discussion of your opinions on a topic Instead, your job as the writer is to synthesize the literature to create that foundation for your research or argument. So before we get into the format of a literature review, let’s first discuss what a literature review is not. Often times, students will treat a literature review like a book report or series of book reports that just summarize the sources. Similarly, students may be tempted to copy/paste annotations into a document and call that a lit review or just include their opinions on the sources or the gaps in the field. [CLICK] Rather than viewing a literature review in this manner, you as the writer are expected to synthesize all of the sources you found to create that foundation we just talked about.

Literature Reviews What is synthesis?
Identifying patterns among the sources Critically discussing strengths/weaknesses of the sources or in the field Comparing and contrasting the authors’ findings Interpreting what is known in your field and what is missing We’ve all heard the term “synthesis,” but understand what that means or how it translates to the written form can be tricky. To make it a bit easier, let’s think of synthesis like the identification of patterns among the sources (are there any common themes or results among your sources), the critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of these sources or the field, a comparison of the authors’ findings, and an interpretation of what is known in your field and what is missing.

Literature Reviews Unlike an annotated bibliography, there is no required format for a literature review. Common requirements: An introduction and conclusion paragraph Helps transition the reader into the topic No use direct material Organization by theme rather than author Unlike an annotated bibliography, there are no typical formats for literature reviews. [CLICK] Not to fret, though: there are common things to add to a literature review as you write it. One key element is the inclusion of an introduction and a conclusion. These paragraphs will ease your reader into your topic, and if a literature review is a part of a longer document, having a mini-introduction and mini-conclusion can act as bookends to the material. Also, just like in an annotated bib, you will want to avoid using direct quotes. The literature review is the chance for you to demonstrate your knowledge on a field, so paraphrasing will help you do so. One other approach to formatting a literature review is to focus on the organization. Rather than organizing by author, which can be the natural tendency, organize your literature review by theme.

Literature Reviews Organization By author: By theme:
Limits a paragraph to one source Does not allow for direct comparison Tends to come across as a series of “book reports” By theme: Allows for a unique organization Can have the authors “talk to each other” Demonstrates the writer’s analysis of the literature Why is this organization important? Well, let’s say you were to organize your literature review by author. This format will limit a paragraph to just one author, it does not allow you to directly compare one source to another (your reader will have to make a lot of inferences on how/where authors connect), and this format tends to come across as the series of book reports, which we know we don’t want for our lit review. [CLICK] Instead, try organizing by the themes or patterns that you’ve identified among your sources. [CLICK] This organization allows you to change the structure of your text (maybe you want one paragraph that is all one source but the next contains five different references to your literature). [CLICK] You can also have the authors “talk to each other,” and when the authors are organized by theme, a fun way to approach your writing is to pretend your authors are arguing over a particular finding or assumption in your field. [CLICK] And lastly, this organization demonstrates all of your great analysis on these sources. Why not take credit for it?

Literature Reviews When organized by theme, writers can also use headings and comparative terms within the text. Headings Cue your reader to organization and changing topics Note subtopics of themes Comparative terms Demonstrate where authors agree or disagree Highlight your interpretation of the authors’ findings

Literature Reviews Example Synthesis
As Stragalas (2010) argued, sharing specific details about the change will help to eliminate any difficulties. Steele-Johnson et al. (2010) echoed these sentiments when they reported that revealing all of the details about a change process can help those involved better understand and support the change. Steele-Johnson et al. also asserted that a high level of transparency during the change can help those involved prepare for and welcome the change. Similarly, Nahata et al. (2010) showed that transparency through excessive communication can allow for a wider range of acceptance of the change.

Literature Reviews Tools
Literature reviews require a lot of research and note taking. Thankfully, there are some tools to help you keep track of your material: Literature review matrices Zotero

Literature Review Matrices Matrices are documents that allow you to compile details about your sources and begin to note similarities among the authors. Example comparisons: Theoretical framework Methodology Conclusions Implications or need for future research

Example Matrix Example matrices on Writing Center website:

Zotero Reference Manager While a matrix can help you make connections between your sources, the software Zotero can help you store and organize your references. Library website and Zotero information:

Recap Annotated Bibliographies Literature Reviews
Summary, analysis, and application No direct quotes, citations, or use of first person Literature Reviews Synthesis not summary Themes not authors

Thanks for joining us this evening!
Questions Thanks for joining us this evening! Use the Question box to ask for clarification For more information on scholarly voice and academic communication, see This concludes our presentation on Writing in an Asynchronous Environment for this evening! If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask them using the Questions box. You can visit our website for all of the materials we discussed or to learn more about Writing Center services and staff.

Resources Walden Library: http://library.waldenu.edu/
Residencies: Center for Research Support: Also, do know that there are other resources available to you as a Walden student. You can find sources or ask a question of a librarian on the Walden Library website, learn more about upcoming residencies on the Residencies homepage, or, if you are in the capstone stage of your studies, visit the Center for Research Support for sample capstone documents or rubrics.

Contact Information: the Writing Center anytime at If you think of any questions at a later date, know you can always us at Thanks!

Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review Basics Jessica Barron Writing Tutor Writing Center Walden University Hello, everyone, and welcome to the.

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Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review Basics Jessica Barron Writing Tutor Writing Center Walden University Hello, everyone, and welcome to the.

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