1. Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography Basics
Nikolas Nadeau
Walden University
Online Writing Center

2. Housekeeping Muting Questions
Tech trouble?
Recording:

3. Fulfilling expectations
An Overview
Purpose
Formatting/
Organization
Fulfilling expectations

4. Alternative names You might also hear or see: 1. annotated bib
2. annotation
3. lit review
All of these terms are synonymous with annotated
bibliographies or literature reviews.

5. 1. The Annotated Bibliography

6. Annotated Bibliography
Annotate: “to make or furnish critical or
explanatory notes or comment”
Bibliography: “the history, identification, or
description of writings or publications”
(Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, 2012)

7. Annotated Bibliography
Teaches about a particular topic
Demonstrates a source’s value
Shows depth/breadth of research

8. Annotated Bibliography
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.

9. Annotated Bibliography
APA
Common Reference Examples
Remember to use APA format for reference entries, just like in a normal reference list.

10. Annotated Bibliography

11. Annotated Bibliography
An annotation has three components:
Each component normally appears as its own
paragraph within the annotation.
Summary
Analysis
Critique

12. Annotated Bibliography
Part 1: Summary
Answers these questions:
What is the topic of the source?
What actions did the author perform within the study and why?
What are the methods of the author?
What was the theoretical basis for the study?
What were the conclusions of the study?

13. Annotated Bibliography
Brief
summary
Past tense
Example Summary:
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.
(Not as long or formulaic as an abstract, and written fully in writer’s own words.)

14. Annotated Bibliography
Part 2: Critique/Analysis
Strengths and weaknesses
Methodology, language choices, organization, level of detail
Is any information is missing?
Is the article scholarly or generalizable? Why or why not?

15. Annotated Bibliography
Example Critique/Analysis:
Rather than focusing on spiritual development, the authors’ course emphasized the intersection between religion and science, through material on epistemology, creation myths, evolutionary theory, and ethics. Furthermore, although the authors exposed students to Fowler’s faith development theory, this exposure did not carry into to student work in the classroom. 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.

16. Annotated Bibliography
Part 3: Application
Does this article fill a gap in literature?
How do I apply this method to my area of focus?
Is the article universal?

17. Annotated Bibliography
The key is to justify why you are using the source.
How is it different than others in the same field/topic?
How does it inform your future research?

18. Annotated Bibliography
Example Application:
Fowler’s work would seem to lend itself to research of
this sort, but such a model is the one 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 aiming to measure movement in
faith development continuum.

19. Annotated Bibliography
Remember:
No in-text or parenthetical citations
No direct quotes
No use of the first person (“I,” “my,” “me”)
No reference list
*However, always defer to your instructor’s
preferences.

20. Annotated Bibliography vs. Literature Review
Annotated bibliography = precursor to a literature review
Literature
review =
foundation for one’s research
An annotated 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.

21. 2. The Literature Review

22. Literature Review A literature review: overviews your chosen
topic or field
demonstrates your depth
of knowledge
supports/guides future
research

23. 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.

24. Literature Review 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

25. Literature Review Remember: No required formatting
An introduction and conclusion
Avoid overreliance on quotes/
paraphrases

26. Literature Review Organize… …by author (bad) …by theme (good)
Limits a paragraph to one source
Does not allow for direct comparison
Tends to come across as a series of “book reports”
…by theme (good)
Allows for a unique organization
Can have the authors “talk to each other”
Demonstrates the writer’s analysis of the literature
Organize…

27. Literature Review 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

28. Literature Review 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.

29. Literature review matrices
Zotero
Helpful tools

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

31. Literature Review Example Matrix
Example matrices on Writing Center website:

32. Zotero Reference Manager
Literature Review
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:

33. 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

34. References (He just checked out our Common Reference
Merriam-Webster. (2012). Annotate [Dictionary definition]. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster. (2012). Bibliography [Dictionary definition]. Retrieved from
(He just checked out
our Common Reference
List Examples page.) →

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