Final Project 2: Annotated Bibliography

• WHAT: An annotated bibliography is a list of sources you have perused and assessed as useful for further use, with annotations on how you intend to use them for your project. (In other exercises, the focus of the annotations may differ.)
• WHEN : Due by Monday March 6, 11.59PM.
• HOW Submit on Canvas the link to a Google doc, with commenting or “suggestions” switched on for me. This is the most effective way for me to  provide feedback.
• WHY: A bibliography shows me where you’re looking for and finding materials, and helps me to help you to find sources that fit with your project. It also happens early enough in the timeline that you can adjust course if it turns out you cannot find the right sources to fit your initial idea, or if you come across something way cooler than your initial idea and you want to tweak the topic.

Detailed description:

• Use Chicago Notes and Bibliography style. Use the Bibliography formatting (not the footnote) for this exercise.
  • Give the full bibliographic reference (incl. publisher, year of publication, etc.)
  • List all items in alphabetical order of the authors’ surnames.
• Strive for at least three sources we did not cover in class (chapters, articles, or full-length books, even if you won’t read the whole book). If you cannot find three reputable sources, provide an overview of your search process: where did you search, which terms etc. Remember for Chinese terms there may be an alternative transcription. The description of your search will help me to guide you towards more/other materials.
• Each annotation should include:
  • A brief (3 sentence) summary of the contents of each. Don’t just copy the abstract but craft the summary to fit with your project’s focus.
  • A brief explanation of how you intend to use this information.
  • Shortcomings you noticed in the source (doesn’t answer a particular question, reasons why you think it is not sufficiently scholarly to use, etc.)
  • You may not yet have the answers to all the questions but you should explain clearly why you think this piece of text is worth your very precious time.
  • This is why the exercise from the library with Kelly, to learn to assess your findings, is so important!
• Here are useful instructions on the format and some examples from Trexler Library, and here are some concrete examples from the OWL at Purdue.
  • Note that the Purdue OWL examples give much longer annotations, but a paragraph will do.
• Your annotated bibliography is a living document. This means that as your research progresses, your list of useful resources will grow, and may change if your topic leads you in a different direction. This is a normal part of the research process. (If you already had all the answers, where is the fun and excitement in research?)