THE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
PROJECT:
BSC LIBRARY OVERVIEW
AN ANNO-WHAT?

An Annotated Bibliography sounds a lot more
intimidating than it actually is:
Bibliography=list
of sources
Annotated=with notes
HERE’S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO:
1.
Think of a research question.
2.
Find seven sources (one book, three database
journal articles, and three websites).
3.
Cite your sources in APA or MLA format and
alphabetize them.
4.
Write a description, evaluation and reflection
for each source.
STEP ONE:
DECIDE ON YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION
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You don’t want to pick something really
BROAD-You will be overwhelmed with information!
Be specific. Narrow it down.
Also be aware that if you pick a current event,
there may not be many articles or books written
specifically on that topic yet.
If you are having trouble, ask your instructor or
the Librarian for help.
STEP TWO: FIND A BOOK

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Use the library catalog, located on the BSC
Library webpage under “Find A Book”
If you don’t have a specific title in mind, try
searching by “all words”
If you can’t find a book that focuses solely on your
topic, it’s okay to use a book that focuses on your
topic in one section or a few chapters.
If you can’t find any books on your topic, try your
local public library, or you can request a book
through inter-library loan.
STEP THREE: FIND THREE ARTICLES USING
THE LIBRARY DATABASES

There are many to choose from…
USING THE DATABASES: SOME TIPS
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If you only want to see articles with full-text
availability, select the “full-text” option
To limit your results to journal articles (and not
newspapers and magazines), select the “peerreviewed” or “scholarly journal articles” option
Every database (except Lexis and JSTOR) will
generate a citation for you!
Remember to click on the remote access link
when you are using the databases off-campus!
STEP FOUR: FIND THREE WEBSITES
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Try limiting your results by domain name
ex: Type II diabetes and teenagers site:.gov
You can use the ~ sign to get synonyms for a
word in your search results
ex: ~death penalty will give you results for capital punishment, too
Always evaluate websites for credibility of the
author/organization, purpose of the site, and date
updated!
STEP FIVE: CITE YOUR SOURCES
STEP SIX: WRITE YOUR ANNOTATIONS
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Each source must have a DESCRIPTION,
EVALUATION, and REFLECTION.
Each annotation needs to be 75-150 words long.
See the Library’s handout for some ideas on what
you could include in your annotations.
THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO IT!

Please contact the Library if you need help:
 library@baystate.edu
 617-217-9449
 Stop
by the Library!