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Annotated Bibliography |
Literature Review |
| Purpose |
- Provides the reader with an ordered list of sources for additional reading. Usually also provides brief explanations of why each source is credible and relevant to the topic.
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- Provides an overview of a particular topic or problem
by summarizing and explaining the most significant sources in the field.
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| Structure |
- Sources are separated from each other and are arranged alphabetically, so they will be easy to locate.
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- Sources are integrated into paragraphs based on the progression of the topical overview, and they may be mentioned more than once.
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| Components |
- Each item in the list uses the formal citation style (usually APA, MLA, or Chicago) to cite a single source and includes a short paragraph with a summary explaining its credibility and relevancy
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- Uses an introduction to explain the topic, synthesizes sources progressively as the topic is explained through the body, and then concludes by summarizing the overall background presented.
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| Questions to ask |
- What are the qualifications of the author(s)?
- What are the main points of the book or article?
- What was the purpose of the research?
- Who is the audience? Other scholars? Professionals?
- Is this source good for background information? In-depth?
- What is your assessment of the source? Do you agree or disagree?
- What are the limitations of the work?
- How does this resource compare to others on the same topic? What are the similarities and/or differences?
- Did you learn something new from this source that you hadn't thought of or read from another source?
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- What is the specific problem or question that my literature review explores?
- What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at methodology? policy? qualitative research?
- What is the scope of my literature review? What types of publications am I using (e.g., journals, books, government docs, websites)?
- How deep and effective was my research? Have I found enough relevant material?
- Have I critically analyzed the sources I located? Have I compared what I located to other material I've found? Do the authors refer to one another?
- Rather than just summarizing my sources, have I provided an evaluation? Have I addressed strengths and limitations?
- Is the number of sources I’ve used appropriate for the length of my paper?
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The literature review : Six steps to success by 