Introduction to Annotated Bibliographies and Research Plans
Claire Nickerson
Annotated Bibliographies
A common project that you may see in courses involving research is an annotated bibliography. You may already know what a bibliography is: a list of citations for resources on a specific subject or related to a specific project, frequently encountered at the end of a scholarly article. An annotation, related to the word “note,” is explanatory text added to the citation, usually consisting of a brief summary of the work’s contents, an analysis of its quality, and a reflection on how the work cited can be used to add value to the project you are working on. So, an annotated bibliography is a list of citations, each accompanied by one to two paragraphs of explanatory text. It can be a standalone project or a step on the road to writing a paper.
Example of an Annotated Citation by Fort Hays State University History graduate student Dani Knoll
Mayhew, R. J. (2009.) Historical geography 2007—2008: Foucault’s avatars — Still in (the) driver’s seat. Progress in
Human Geography, 33(3), 387-97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132508096354
Being an expert on the interface of historical geography and intellectual history, Robert Mayhew specializes in the intellectual history of British geography books, demography, and migration between 1660 to 1990 at the University of Bristol. And was also elected as a Fellow of the British Academy for the Anthropology and Geography section of the Academy. From the thirtieth anniversary of Foucault’s lectures on governmentality and the publication of the English translation of Security, territory, population, Mayhew’s focus is how Foucault changed the current generation of historical geographers. Throughout the article, Mayhew tries to depict these changes of this sub-discipline and the kinds of work that is being done within it. Mayhew also mentions that with the twentieth anniversary of Cantabridgian historical geographers began applying Foucault’s relevancy to their inquiries and how this sub-discipline remits the Foucauldian corpus. As to the biases of Mayhew, he would appear to be a Foucauldian and support the changes that Foucault had with the postmodern era. Making this article targeted toward an audience of professionals that specialize in Foucault and theory within their studies. This work will be helpful in putting the two concepts of Foucault’s theory of power and the concepts of Historical geography and how the two interplay with each other. As well as, how these two concepts work together in developing certain areas within the world over time. Thus, give a deeper understanding of the two theories and their legacies upon each other. This work will also bring important information when discussing the concepts of power, knowledge, and language from Foucault and bring them with Bourdieu’s symbolism and conformity within the cultural concept.
Here are several examples of full annotated bibliographies:
- Annotated bibliography on participatory consultations to help aid the inclusion of marginalized perspectives in setting policy agendas ⧉ (professional bibliography with annotations that both describe and evaluate the works cited)
- An Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Literature on Managing Forests for Carbon Benefits ⧉ (professional bibliography with purely descriptive annotations)
- Student-created example on historical geography ⧉
If you are working on an annotated bibliography, you may want to jump ahead and skim Chapter 15, which is all about annotated bibliographies, before choosing a topic so that you know what you are aiming for. Also pay special attention to Chapter 6 on evaluating resources, Chapter 7 on summarizing, Chapter 12 on assessing credibility, and Chapter 14 on reflecting, as these are the skills you need to write good annotations.
Research Plans
Another common step toward completing a research project is the creation of a research plan. Your research plan document starts with stating your research topic (discussed later in this chapter) and research question (discussed in the next chapter) and then outlines how you plan to find library resources to answer your question and complete your project based on the requirements for your assignment. In general, your research plan should include:
- Types of information needed, such as data or primary research (see Chapter 4)
- Types of sources needed, such as newspaper articles or books (see Chapter 4)
- Finding tools you plan to use, such as search engines or library databases (see Chapter 5: Searching the Web, Chapter 8: Finding Tools, Chapter 9: Searching Library Catalogs, and Chapter 11: Searching Databases–there are a lot of different finding tools available!)
As you narrow down your research topic in this chapter, consider starting a research plan document. Here’s an example template you might use if your instructor hasn’t provided one.
A list of citations for resources related to a specific topic, with a summary, analysis, and reflection on the utility of each resource
A list of works, such as articles or books, about a specific subject. A bibliography may stand alone or come at the end of another work.
Pointing out in what sources you found each direct quote and where/who the ideas that you paraphrased and summarized in your research paper, essay, or poster came from. The citing may appear at the point of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing (called in-text citations) and at the end of the document on pages typically called References, Bibliography, or Works Cited. Citations are an integral part of academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism
Peer-reviewed article published in an academic journal, usually at least 15 pages long and summarizing existing research on a topic or presenting new research, with citations
Explanatory notes added to a text or diagram
Document that outlines the steps of a research project, especially what types of library resources to search for and where to look for them
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