Ten high quality sources on the same topic, multiple types –descriptive/critical

Two booksA popular magazine or

newspaper articleTwo articles from scholarly

journals1 popular and 1 scholarly

web siteThree additional resources,

from the above list or other types of materials, such as government documents, media, dissertations, electronic reference sources, conference proceedings, etc.

Do NOT use any assigned reading

Annotated Bibliography Due 5/6

Accuracy Reliable, error-free information? Are there editors, reviewers, fact-checkers?

Authority Author’s qualifications? How reputable is the publisher/host?

Objectivity Is the information presented with a minimum of bias? To what extent is the information trying to sway the opinion of the reader?

Evaluating Research Materials

Currency Is the content of the work up to date? Is the publication date clearly indicated? If there is a date, what does it mean?date the material was created reprinted last updated mounted on the web

CoverageWho is the audience? What topics are included in the work?To what extent are topics explored?

Evaluation Criteria--Continued

Petroleum from Paradise: Why China Must Exploit Tibet’s Oil Resources

Rush Limbaugh

With forward by Bill Maher

© 2010, Pocket Books

If your annotated bibliography project was on China’s development activities in Tibet:

Would you use this book?

Scholarly Journals

Serious appearanceArticles are research studies

Standard format, includes literature review, methodology, findings (data), analysis

Audience includes professors, students, researchers

Articles are signedMost articles are peer reviewedArticles have bibliographiesLittle/no advertising

Trade or Professional Journals

May have a bright coverWritten for a particular industry

or professional groupArticles may be unsignedEditorial reviewIf any advertising, specific to the

target field

Popular Magazines

Bright cover, lots of photosIntended for a broad audience

May be intended demographic group

Articles often unsignedEditorial review of articlesLots of general advertising

aimed at the magazine’s readership

Harder to tell the type of publication

Some research databases let you filter for scholarly journals, but it’s not perfect

Features to look for: Sources are cited Research method is explained Not just a minor feature, like a letter or

editorial Authors are identified and have

contact information

Electronic journals can have a print equivalent or only an electronic version. Most are versions of the print titles.

Scholarly articles online

Intended for serious research, not for entertainment

Inclusion in search engine or directory is no guarantee of appropriateness for your assignment

You must evaluate sites yourself Find sites with substantive research content, not just links to other sites Do not include journal articles published on the web – use stand-alone websites

Use Internet subject directories Academic—sites have been selected for quality, may be annotated Find using Internet Subject Directories link on Electronic Reserves

http://www.internettutorials.net/

Specialized search engines iSEEK targets substantive websites; InfoMINE: http://infomine.ucr.edu/: Librarian’s Internet Index

Use search engine “Advanced Search” features to limit domains to .edu, .org, .gov, etc. Google Ask.com

Finding Scholarly Websites

Few barriers to web site publication v. scholarly journal articles or books Books and journals have editors/reviewers Anybody with computer access can be a publisher on the web No review or fact-checking required for web sites

Unparalleled potential for timeliness compared to print media Can be freely distributed throughout the world in an instant Can be updated at will No guarantee of permanence

Web Site Evaluation

3 Websites

China Tibet Online http://eng.tibet.cn/

International Campaign for Tibet http://www.savetibet.org/

TWELVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOWABOUT TIBET AND CHINA http://webspace.webring.com/people/jd/dorje005/

Evaluate for:

Accuracy Authority—who is responsible for the site? Objectivity—what kind of bias is present? Currency—how up-to-date is the site? Coverage—who is the audience? To what extent

are topics explored?

Exercise:Would you use these websites in a research paper?

Here is a link to Cornell Library’s page on making an annotated bibliography: http://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography This is North Carolina’s, which has a bit more detail: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/annotated-bibliographies/

An Example of bad annotated bibliography