Assignment 2 – Annotated Bibliography Annotated Bibliography Before building the theoretical framework supported by the literature for the student’s area of interest, relevant and current research must

Assignment 2 – Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Before building the theoretical framework supported by the literature for the student’s area of interest, relevant and current research must be located and reviewed. This assignment is an annotated bibliography containing a minimum of 10 references derived from primary sources. The studies MUST be empirical in nature (i.e., the study must include data collection and analysis). Each article referenced should be briefly and critically discussed as it relates to your specific Statement of the Problem (or need).

The annotated bibliography should be organized alphabetically by author beginning with the APA style reference citation followed by each of the required elements organized as bulleted points.  Following is key information for the completion of this assignment.  Be sure to use the sample format provided at the end of the assignment directions below so that your annotative bibliography is organized properly. 

An annotated bibliography includes the basic citation, and then the annotation. An annotation is a short summary of the scholarly article, and it's also a critique of it. Simply put, your annotations do three things:

1.     Explains, or summarizes, what the article is about; the article's purpose is summarized in your first sentence.

2.     Evaluates the overall rigor and design of the study.

3.     Reflects on the usefulness and why it was included in the bibliography.

Each of the 10 sources should be listed in ABC order (by author last name) and include each of the following elements:

1.     The full reference in APA style

2.     The problem being studied

3.     The purpose of the study

4.     The theoretical framework which drove the study (if any)

5.     A description of the participants

6.     The data collection instruments used

7.     The methods used

8.     The findings/results

9.     Your evaluation of the study

10.  The relevance of the study as it relates to your planned research

Writing an annotated bibliography will help you to:

Ø  Learn about your topic: Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for writing your literature review. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully and evaluate it both for its authority and usefulness for your research. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information.

Ø  Formulate a thesis: Every good research paper has an argument. The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. Therefore, the thesis should be debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and then be able to develop your own point of view.

Ø  Learn about methods: Reviewing literature helps you understand research designs and methods used to collect and analyze information and data; in addition to understanding the planning of research and why it is necessary to comply with the scientific method, as well as how well planned and designed studies provide improved validity and reliability to the overall findings.

Writing an annotated bibliography:

The citation itself is written in standard APA format. Use only Primary sources. Do not use Secondary sources.

Following are guiding questions that will assist you when writing the annotations:

• Summarize: Provide an overview of what the source is about. Include the following:

o   The problem being studied

o   The purpose of the study

o   The theoretical framework which drove the study (if any)

o   A description of the participants

o   The data collection instruments used

o   The methods used

o   The findings/results

• Evaluate: After summarizing a source, it is important to evaluate it. One or two sentences is sufficient. Consider the following:

o   Evaluation of research: Is the work logical, clear, and well-researched?

o   Discussion on the strengths/weaknesses of the study.

o   Comparison of the work with others on the same topic or others in your bibliography.

• Reflect on its Usefulness: Once you've summarized and evaluated a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. One sentence is sufficient. Consider the following:

o   Was this source helpful to you?

o   How does it help you shape your argument?

o   Has it changed how you think about your topic?

Assignment 2: Annotated Bibliography

Article 1:   Put the full bibliographic citation here.  Then using bullets fill in the information below.

·       State the research problem in this article

·       State the purpose of the study

·       Explain the theoretical framework (name it and describe in two or three sentences).  State that no theoretical framework was provide if none was provided or can be inferred in the article.

·       Describe the participants

·       Describe the data collection instruments used.  If there are many, then just describe the ones that are relevant to you.

·       Describe the methods.  What kind of data was collected (quantitative or qualitative or both).  How was the data collected (e.g., a questionnaire or individual interview)

·       Describe the main findings/results that are relevant to you

·       Evaluate the research.  Once you've summarized and evaluated a source, you need to think about the quality of the work.  One or two sentences is sufficient.  Consider the following: Was the work done well, did the research address an important gap in the literature, what were the strengths and weaknesses of the study, how does the study compare with others on the same topic or others in your bibliography.

·       Reflect on its Usefulness: Once you've summarized and evaluated a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. One sentence is sufficient. Consider the following: Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your thinking about the research topic?  Has it changed how you think about your topic?

Article 2:  Continue with the next article using the same bullets provided above.  Include at least 10 primary source scientific articles as per the directions above.

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Article 10:

The sources should be in ABC order.

Grading Rubric