due date
background
COMM 2624 Media 1
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY EXERCISE
week 9 in workshops
This task is designed to provide a structure and process
for sorting through and evaluating your early secondary
research in to the assigned topic area. The early phase of
the research can be quite wide-ranging and broad and
writing an annotated bibliography will assist you in
narrowing your focus. The material produced should be
included within the final production dossier.
An annotated bibliography provides an overview or
summary of specific secondary sources as well as a critical
evaluation and reflection about how the source might be
useful in advancing your creative response.
exercise description
Each group member must produced an annotated
bibliography that contains at least 6 entries and is a
minimum of 1200 words overall. These references should
not include readings supplied for the lectorials. Group
members should coordinate to make sure they do not
duplicate entries.
The references should be discipline-appropriate
academic sources and industry reports/analyses. Some
entries, of sources likely to be more useful to the
research, might have longer individual entries. The
Harvard style format should be used (see RMIT Library
guide).
USEFUL TIPS RE PRODUCING ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES
1. Coverage of individual works within the annotated bibliography
A good annotated bibliography entry would include the following:
i) a brief summary of the main ideas of the secondary text
ii) a critical evaluation of the secondary text
iii) a reflection on its relevance/utility in terms of furthering your own analysis
i) summary
 This summary might cover the following: What is the key
question/argument of the secondary text and/or its main finding? Does the
text employ a particular analytical perspective (e.g. a theoretical framework
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and/or methodology)? What kinds of ‘evidence’ does it use to support its
claims (textual evidence, interviews, statistics, etc)?
ii) critical evaluation
 The most challenging of these three components is providing a ‘critical
evaluation’. Firstly, it is important to note that ‘critical’ here doesn’t only
mean identifying potential flaws in the methodology or argument; it is as
much about being able to comment on the type of perspective and frames
of understanding employed by that secondary text. That is, what kind of
audience is it addressing (e.g. an academic audience interested in processes
of media representation? A general Melbourne public?). Is the secondary
text descriptive or analytical (and in what sense analytical)? What are the
main discourses employed within the secondary text? What assumptions
does it make and what kind of knowledge is it trying to produce?
iii) reflection
 HOW will the secondary text help you analyse YOUR research object/topic?
Good explanations and examples of annotated bibliographies can be found in these
concise guides:
i) Queensland University Technology
http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/annotated_bib.jsp
ii) University of New South Wales
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/annotated_bib.html
iii) RMIT Learning Lab [accessible from Blackboard]
http://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/2_AssessmentTasks/assess_pdf/annotate
d%20bibliographies%20LL.pdf
2. How do I recognise an ‘academic publication’?
In academic publications authors cite sources they have used. Citing sources and
past research provides support for an author’s assertions and arguments and helps
readers to find more information on the topic. This scholarly practice acknowledges
past work done in the general topic area and frames research as part of an ongoing
dialogue and collaborative effort on the part of communities of knowledge
organised around different areas of disciplinary inquiry (e.g. communication studies).
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