Evaluating Source Material: Factors to Consider
What is an annotated Works Cited list? It is like a bibliography or Works Cited list that you would include at the end of a research paper, but each source has an annotation. An annotation includes both a description and an evaluation of your sources. The annotation should describe the source, telling the reader some or all of the following depending on the source:
• what the source covers,
• how the source will add to your paper,
• what the author’s credentials are,
• the currency of and theoretical basis for the author’s argument,
• the intended audience of the source,
• the significance of the source as a contribution to your paper topic and/or thesis statement,
• possible problems with the source (bias, shortcomings),
• your own brief impression of the source.
Name Course Title, Section:_____________________
Meeting Days and Times______________
Research Log/Annotated Bibliography
Search question (topic expressed in question form):
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Source #1
Complete citation for item found (use Academic Search Premier’s Save function, Expanded Academic database’s citation guide or another on-line citation program, or consult How-to Guides > Source Citation on the DBC website for help):
Information source used (e.g. popular search engine like Google, broad-based database such as Expanded Academic ASAP, discipline-specific or alternative database such as GenderWatch, or Sites of Interest):
Search strategy employed (e.g. keyword= , subject heading= , author= etc.):
Paraphrased ideas or direct quotations to use in presentation and/or final literature review (be sure to distinguish between paraphrases or summaries and direct quotations and to note page numbers of all material recorded here):
Evaluation of material (how/what will it contribute to your presentation? how accurate, thorough and reliable does it seem? how does it fit with other sources?):
Date this search was done and entry was made:
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