This week you'll learn how to prepare an annotated bibliography.  This document explains in detail how this is done. It consists of the following sections (which are hyperlinked in case you want to jump around):

1. Discussion of the nature of references to be used for your paper.
2. A short discussion of what an annotated bibliography is, and its intended purpose.
3. A short discussion of what this assignment entails.
4. A list of what a good annotation should contain.
5. Example of an annotation.

For starters, let me say a few words about references. Hopefully, you are all familiar with the fact that throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, PRINT references were the basis of good research. The Internet is, at least for now, still not a particularly good primary source for legitimate research articles (with a few exceptions) in the geosciences. In other words, most of the papers that are available are digital versions of papers that are published in peer-reviewed, print journals. In time this may change but few journals in geoscience are currently Internet-only. So I want you to restrict your research to print-based resources, either from the original print source or available on-line. For example, no Wikipedia entries! Any exceptions to this requirement must first be okayed by me.

Here is an excerpt (not the final copy but close enough) from a paper Dr. Kevin McCartney and I published on that very subject. The intended audience is first-year geoscience majors. I include it here just to reinforce the importance of using peer-reviewed literature in your research.

Liabilities of Internet Usage in Term Papers

The Internet is not the be-all and end-all of your research. A college-level term paper that uses only the Internet for information will probably not cover its subject adequately, and thus is unlikely to receive a high grade. There are several reasons for this. For one, the Internet tends to cover subjects more superficially than the printed literature, without the depth and context provided by a book. Most Internet sources also lack explicit citations to other sources for reference; such citation is an important part of articles found in professional journals and is one of the ways in which scholarly accountability is maintained.

Another important reason that the Internet should not be the primary information source for a term paper is the considerable variation in the quality of information available on the Internet. This variation is due to the Internet's lack of a standard for information quality. That is to say, anyone can put anything on the Internet, and by mere virtue of being "computerized" the information may seem authoritative to the novice (or gullible) reader. Printed, or "hardcopy," literature has a built-in safeguard to ensure high quality information -- peer-review.

Peer-review means that the publisher of the article or book sent the manuscript to external reviewers, usually authorities in the subject matter. These reviewers are commonly the writer's own peers, perhaps other college professors, for example. These reviewers evaluate the manuscript and reach a general consensus that the work meets some high standard.

Reviewers cannot reject a manuscript simply because they might disagree with it, but can reject it if there are flaws in the way the subject was investigated, or if the manuscript does not adequately deal with important counter arguments. Reviewers also offer suggestions to the writer for improving the manuscript before publication, and peer-reviewed publications are usually professionally edited as well. For what it is worth, this article has been peer-reviewed.

Documents on the Internet typically are not peer-reviewed. Consequently, in gathering materials for a term paper, you might unintentionally include information that is plagiarized, factually or interpretationally flawed, overly biased in its viewpoint or presentation or lacking the more thorough analysis typical of the peer-reviewed literature. It is easy for the uninitiated student to incorporate information into a term paper without appreciating its faults. This, of course, can result in an inaccurate, incomplete or fatally flawed term paper, and ultimately in a lower grade from your teacher.

A final criticism of the Internet as a source of information for term papers is its ephemeral nature. The printed literature provides a permanent record that can be accessed in libraries. This is the foundation of knowledge that scholars strive to improve and build upon, such as the blocks upon which a cathedral is built.

Information on the Internet, however, has no permanency; by analogy, it is more like the shifting sands of a beach. What might be on a webpage today can easily be changed tomorrow. Information used to support an argument might not be there when someone later tries to verify it. In some cases, portions of the Internet are "archived" in order to preserve them for historical purposes but this record still probably has nothing like the permanence of published "hard-copy."

Source: http://www.mtsu.edu/~cdharris/term-paper-guide/jge_v47_1999.htm

An annotated bibliography consists of a number of bibliographic references, in alphabetized order, that you have annotated. An annotation describes or evaluates the subject and scope of a bibliographical research source, that is, a book, journal article, newspaper, report, etc., which you might consult for your research activities.

The goal of writing an annotation -- i.e. "annotating a reference" -- is to briefly describe the contents of the reference and document its usefulness to your research. That way, you can go back and read this brief annotation rather than having to re-read the abstract, the conclusions, look over the figures, tables, etc.

Some researchers devote little or no time to preparing annotations while others annotate every reference that they read. As a graduate student, you can save many hours if, at the very least, you annotate those references that you think will be key to your research.

Today most bibliographic software programs (e.g. Endnote, ProCite, Papyrus, etc.) support large data fields for storing annotations, as well as word search for the contents therein. That makes preparing annotations even more worthwhile.

As yet another step towards writing your final research paper, you will prepare your own annotated bibliography according to the following instructions.

1. This course is designed so that you should already have collected and read a number of references on your research topic. If not, then to complete this assignment you will need to read them, take notes, concentrating on material that provides a narrow focus on the topic that you are researching.
2. If you have not already done so for Assignment 7, prepare a GSA format bibliography with citations for at least twelve resources related to your final research project.
3. Read and critically evaluate each of the resources in your bibliography.
4. Using the format discussed below, write a short (100 - 200 word) annotation for five of your references. Because you will have to devote a bit of time to these references, I would suggest that all five be ones that are important to your research. At the very least, you should annotate your three or four best references, and then choose one or two others that are less significant.
5. Submit your annotated bibliography as a digital file via email.

Step 1: Prepare a cover page with the project title, your name, the date, and the class title and number.

Step 2: Prepare a numbered (1, 2, 3, etc.), alphabetized bibliography, using GSA reference style. The simplest approach is to use your document from Assignment 7. Cut and paste the five references that you plan to annotate together at the top of the page; then number them sequentially based on alphabetical order. The remainder of your references should be included below these (for my information), and should not be numbered, but should still be alphabetized.

Numbering (1-5) is strictly for my convenience in counting your references.  Numbers are NOT usually used in geoscience bibliographies, and I do not want the bibliography for your research paper to be numbered, just the annotated bibliography.

I expect your annotations to be relatively error free in terms of grammar, editing, reference format, etc. Failing to meet these expectations will cost you points. BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT YOU USE GSA FORMAT FOR YOUR SOURCES.

Step 3: Prepare an annotation for each reference in your bibliography. Each entry should include at least six elements, in this order:

1. Name of author, title of work, and other publication information in correct GSA reference style (in other words, the reference as it appears in your alphabetized bibliography)

2. A topic sentence reporting the author's thesis. [In other words, what information is the author trying to convey to his/her audience? What is the central point of the reference?]

3. A brief but accurate explanation of how the author develops or supports the thesis, usually in the same order as the main points in the source.

4. A statement of the author's general purpose or goal (answering the question "Why did the author bother to write this?" Possible answers: to educate, to entertain, to refute, to elaborate, etc.), and an assessment of whether the author fulfilled his/her goal or purpose and why it succeeds or fails. Don't take my examples (to educate) too literally. All of your references were written for research purposes. But elaborate on this, i.e. what did the author hope to prove?

5. A brief summary and assessment of the ancillary materials (tables, graphs, photos, maps, etc.)

6. A description of the intended audience and the appropriateness of the piece for research purposes.

I know an example would probably be helpful, so here goes.

Example: Study these two versions of the same annotation. The first is a student's initial draft annotated reference (including typos). It is on the right track, but has problems. Can you tell what the problems are? The second is the student's excellent revision.

Note: Your annotated bibliography should not include any entries that are as unusable (for research purposes) as this one! (It was for a freshman-level, non-majors class, and without the use of a spell-check.) Materials of marginal use, however, are acceptable. Remember, however, that you should be using all your references in your paper, so choose wisely.

Stuller, James, 1994; The Fragil mix -- Where Fresh meets Salty water, Physical and Chemical reactions set the Foundation for a caldron of life. v. 40, pp. 29-32.

This article outlines the importance of marginal marine environments to marine life and discusses the nature of brackish water chemistry. It is written for a general audience and so simplistically explains or defines nearly all of the terms and concepts discussed. It is written in an informal style and is intended to entertain. All concepts are presented with sufficient background information to make the material attainable to almost anyone. However, it lacks any type of explanatory graphics (charts, tables, or diagrams) to illustrate these concepts.

This article doesn't seem to effectively address its main topics, but rather spends too much content on explaining the hydrologic cycle, stream tranpsort, etc. Included photos contribute little to the paper and most represent more of a distraction than a contribution to the subject matter (although those who have never seen an estuary might benefit). The article even contains a hypothetical explanation for the little Ice Age, relating fresh water discharge in the North Atlantic to it. The subtitle of the article: "where fresh water meets salt water, physical and chemical reations set the foundation for an cauldron of life", seems to have been chosen at random from its many subjects.

Overall, this piece is substantially a primer for the general public on marginal mareine environemtns -- how and why they exist, and how man's activities endanger their productivity. It is adequate for its intended audience: science-oriented readers with limited knowledge of the oceans and oceanic processes.

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Stuller, J., 1994, The fragile mix -- Where fresh meets salty water, physical and chemical reactions set the foundation for a cauldron of life: Sea Frontiers, v. 40, p. 29-32.

Stuller's article presents a general overview of the marginal marine (brackish) environment and how humans' activities endanger wetland productivity. He covers a large number of topics including: the origin and characteristics of estuaries, the hydrologic cycle and stream transport, the importance of marginal marine environments to marine life, the nature of brackish water chemistry, a hypothetical explanation for the little Ice Age, and society's impact on coastal wetland productivity. The article provides no references or data to document or support the topics discussed. Stuller writes in an informal style, intending to entertain as well as educate. Suited to a general audience, the article explains or defines, in a simplistic way, nearly all of the terms and concepts discussed. Based on its title, this article fails to address its main topics; however the material that is presented contains sufficient background information to make it attainable to almost anyone. The text lacks explanatory graphics (charts, tables, or diagrams) for illustrating concepts. Several photographs contribute little to the paper, and most represent more of a distraction than a contribution to the subject matter (those who have never seen an estuary might benefit, however). This article is a primer, for the general public, on marginal marine environments -- how and why they exist, and how human activities endanger their productivity. It is adequate for its intended audience: science-oriented readers with limited knowledge of the oceans and oceanic or coastal processes. It is of little use for any type of serious research.