1. Select Topic
Your topic should be neither too broad nor too narrow, but engage with a specific research question. You may not have a thesis yet, but will form one in the course of reading sources.
2. Locate Sources
This is a time-consuming process when writing an annotated bibliography. Remember your annotated bibliography should only include peer reviewed sources. One of the best ways to find this kind of material is Scopus.
3. Read and Evaluate Sources
Evaluating a source is about more than reading the abstract. As you assess potential sources, be sure they can provide you with the kinds of information you are charged with finding (e.g. species studied, habitat, duration of study, impacts, etc).
Writing
1. Create Citations
For Bio 195M, you will be using the Journal of Wildlife Management journal citation style. Your citations should also include a "hanging indent" for the first line of the citation whereby the first line of the citation sits further to the left on the page with subsequent lines indented.
2. Write Annotations
Each annotation immediately follows the citation, and consists of a short, evaluative paragraph. The entire annotation should be left aligned with the indented lines of you citation. For Bio 195M, your annotation should include the elements:
Species Studied
Location/Region/Habitat
Methodological Details (e.g. Description of Camera Trap Use in the Study)
Duration of Study
Major Findings (i.e. Impacts / Key Take Aways from Results and Discussion)
Caveats Noted by Author(s)
Why this source is relevant to your topic / question
What about formatting?
Most of the major citation styles call for a hanging first line on annotated bibliographies. This means the first line of the citation will align with the left margin of the page, and all subsequent lines of the citation and annotation will indent to the right.
LeFlore, E.G., T.K. Fuller, J.T. Finn, S. DeStefano, and J. Organ. 2019. Wild canid distribution and co-existence in a natural-urban matrix of the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. Northeastern Naturalist 26:325-342.
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