Conducting research – annotated bibliography

In order to complete this program, you will need to do research. One of the more useful tools in conducting research is the annotated bibliography.  An annotated bibliography combines the citations found in the References list at the end of documents in APA format with annotations about each of the sources.  For this final assignment, you will construct an annotated bibliography to help build your personal citation “database” to use as your move forward and (hopefully) for your dissertation.  Take this time to start on the right foot and be prepared when the time comes.  You should have a general ideal of your research topic, if not, take this time to think about what area you want to do research and find article to help shape that path.
Purpose:  An annotated bibliography is an organizing tool that is helpful when working on a research project.  An effective annotated bibliography is used to compile research sources in one location and provide the researcher with quick access to the information contained in each source.
Audience: This assignment should be directed at your scholarly peers, and you may assume that they have only a casual familiarity with your topic or issue.
Content/Subject: Your annotated bibliography will consist of the sources that you have deemed relevant to your topic and/or question(s) of inquiry.  While you may encounter sources that are not relevant or do not fit the scope of your project while researching, for the purposes of this assignment, you will only include the ones that you find useful and relevant.
Cite the source in proper APA format.  The citations should be organized in alphabetical order by author just as in an APA References page.
Follow with a brief annotation that summarizes the source (approx. 100-150 words). You may NOT quote from the source; Ideally, all of the annotation should be in your own words.  In 1 or 2 sentences, explain the source’s relevance and importance to your issue.
Constraints:  The annotated bibliography is a fairly rigid genre.  Your citations must adhere to APA format.  This will be one of the central components of the grade for this assignment.  Failure to follow APA format exactly will harm your grade.  The annotations for each source should follow an academic style.  This means that you must construct, with elevated and sophisticated language, correct grammatical sentences that effectively summarize what each source has to say.  Additionally, you should explain how each source is relevant to the issue that you have selected and what it adds to your knowledge about your issue.
Specific guidelines to follow when completing this assignment are:

• 15 sources of various types (book, article, website, etc.)
  • No wikis
  • No more than 3 can be website citations
  • At least 5 must be peer reviewed.
• Adherence to APA format for all citations.
• Sources in alphabetical order according to author.
• Thoughtful and complete annotations of 100-150 words each.
• Correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.