How does an imbalance in brain chemistry or poor nutrition relate to depression?

Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.

First, locate and record citations to 5 core peer reviewed research articles related to your approved topic. Then briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.

Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style.

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following.

Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.

For more help, see our handout on paraphrasingLinks to an external site. sources.

Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?

For more help, see our handouts on evaluating resourcesLinks to an external site..

Reflect: Once you’ve summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?

Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others.

While an annotation can be as short as one sentence, the average entry in an annotated bibliography consists of a work’s citation information followed by a short paragraph of about 4-6 sentences, roughly 150 words in length.

Additionally, what are the three parts of an annotated bibliography?

The three types of annotated bibliographies are; summary annotations, critical annotations and a combination of the former two. Summary annotations are further classified into informative and indicative annotations. The following are the main features of summary annotations: They show a summary of the source content.

Secondly, what should be included in an annotated bibliography?

Depending on the type of annotated bibliography you are writing, you may want to include:

The purpose of the work.

A summary of its content.

For what type of audience the work is written.

Its relevance to the topic.

Any special or unique features about the material.

The strengths, weaknesses or biases in the material.

Critically Appraising the Book, Article, or Document

For guidance in critically appraising and analyzing the sources for your bibliography, see How to Critically Analyze Information SourcesLinks to an external site.. For information on the author’s background and views, ask at the reference desk for help finding appropriate biographical reference materialsLinks to an external site. and book reviewLinks to an external site. sources.

Citation

For this course we will use the American Psychological Association (APA) style. Here are links that can help with APA format.

General Format // Purdue Writing LabLinks to an external site.

The assignment should be written in Word, double spaced with 12 pt Times New Roman or Ariel font.

Sample Annotated Bibliography Entries

The following example uses APA style (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition, 2019) for the journal citation:

Waite, L., Goldschneider, F., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.