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Citation Tools and Resources

Websites and databases that provide citation information.

 

Infographics from USC Upstate.

Abstracts vs. Annotations

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles.

Annotations are descriptive and critical, describing the author's authority, point of view, as well as the scope and purpose of the source.

Types of Annotations

There are different kinds of annotations, depending on what might be most important for your reader to learn about a source. Three common types of annotated bibliographies are Critical, Descriptive, and Informative.

A Critical annotation includes value judgments or comments on the effectiveness of the work. In this context, critical means evaluative and may include both positive and negative comments. A critical annotation may contain the information found in a descriptive annotation and discuss some of the following features:

  • The importance of the work’s contribution to the literature of the subject
  • The author’s bias or tone
  • The author’s qualifications for writing the work
  • The accuracy of the information in the source
  • Limitations or significant omissions
  • The work’s contribution to the literature of the subject
  • Comparison with other works on the topic

This type of annotation seeks to answer these types of questions:

  • Is the author's presentation of the facts objective?
  • Is the methodology sound? Is this source useful for my audience?
  • Are the conclusions still valid in light of new research?
  • What contribution does this make to the field?
  • Does this source address all the relevant issues?

There are different kinds of annotations, depending on what might be most important for your reader to learn about a source. Three common types of annotated bibliographies are Descriptive, Informative, and Critical.

A Descriptive annotation may summarize:

  • The main purpose or idea of the work
  • The contents of the work
  • The author’s conclusions
  • The intended audience
  • The author’s research methods
  • Special features of the work such as illustrations, maps, and tables

This type of annotation seeks to answer the question: Does this source cover or address the topic I am researching?

There are different kinds of annotations, depending on what might be most important for your reader to learn about a source. Three common types of annotated bibliographies are Descriptive, Informative, and Critical.

An Informative annotation:

  • Summarizes what the content, message, or argument of the source is
  • Generally contains the hypothesis, methodology, main points, and conclusion or results
  • Does not include any editorial or evaluative comments about such content

This type of annotation seeks to answer these types of questions: What are the author's main arguments? What conclusions did the author draw?

Critical Appraisal & Analysis

Author

  • What are the author's credentials--institutional affiliation (where he or she works), educational background, past writings, or experience? Is the book or article written on a topic in the author's area of expertise? You can use the various 'Who's Who' publications for the U.S. and other countries and for specific subjects and the biographical information located in the publication itself to help determine the author's affiliation and credentials.
  • Has your instructor mentioned this author? Have you seen the author's name cited in other sources or bibliographies? Respected authors are cited frequently by other scholars. For this reason, always note those names that appear in many different sources.
  • Is the author associated with a reputable institution or organization? What are the basic values or goals of the organization or institution?

Date of Publication

  • When was the source published? This date is often located on the face of the title page below the name of the publisher. If it is not there, look for the copyright date on the reverse of the title page. On Web pages, the date of the last revision is usually at the bottom of the home page, sometimes every page.
  • Is the source current or out-of-date for your topic? Topic areas of continuing and rapid development, such as the sciences, demand more current information. On the other hand, topics in the humanities often require material that was written many years ago. At the other extreme, some news sources on the Web now note the hour and minute that articles are posted on their site.

Edition or Revision

  • Is this a first edition of this publication or not? Further editions indicate a source has been revised and updated to reflect changes in knowledge, include omissions, and harmonize with its intended reader's needs.
  • Also, many printings or editions may indicate that the work has become a standard source in the area and is reliable. If you are using a Web source, do the pages indicate revision dates?

Publisher

  • Note the publisher. If the source is published by a university press, it is likely to be scholarly. Although the fact that the publisher is reputable does not necessarily guarantee quality, it does show that the publisher may have high regard for the source being published.

Title of Journal

  • Is this a scholarly or a popular journal? This distinction is important because it indicates different levels of complexity in conveying ideas. If you need help in determining the type of journal, see the guide, Popular, Scholarly, or Trade?

Having made an initial appraisal, you should now examine the body of the source. Read the preface to determine the author's intentions for the book. Scan the table of contents and the index to get a broad overview of the material it covers. Note whether bibliographies are included. Read the chapters that specifically address your topic. Reading the article abstract and scanning the table of contents of a journal or magazine issue is also useful. As with books, the presence and quality of a bibliography at the end of the article may reflect the care with which the authors have prepared their work.

A. Intended Audience

What type of audience is the author addressing? Is the publication aimed at a specialized or a general audience? Is this source too elementary, too technical, too advanced, or just right for your needs?

B. Objective Reasoning

  1. Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda? It is not always easy to separate fact from opinion. Facts can usually be verified; opinions, though they may be based on factual information, evolve from the interpretation of facts. Skilled writers can make you think their interpretations are facts.
  2. Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched, or is it questionable and unsupported by evidence? Assumptions should be reasonable. Note errors or omissions.
  3. Are the ideas and arguments advanced more or less in line with other works you have read on the same topic? The more radically an author departs from the views of others in the same field, the more carefully and critically you should scrutinize his or her ideas.
  4. Is the author's point of view objective and impartial? Is the language free of emotion-arousing words and bias?

C. Coverage

  1. Does the work update other sources, substantiate other materials you have read, or add new information? Does it extensively or marginally cover your topic? You should explore enough sources to obtain a variety of viewpoints.
  2. Is the material primary or secondary in nature? Primary sources are the raw material of the research process. Secondary sources are based on primary sources. For example, if you were researching Konrad Adenauer's role in rebuilding West Germany after World War II, Adenauer's own writings would be one of many primary sources available on this topic. Others might include relevant government documents and contemporary German newspaper articles. Scholars use this primary material to help generate historical interpretations--a secondary source. Books, encyclopedia articles, and scholarly journal articles about Adenauer's role are considered secondary sources. In the sciences, journal articles and conference proceedings written by experimenters reporting the results of their research are primary documents. Choose both primary and secondary sources when you have the opportunity.

D. Writing Style

Is the publication organized logically? Are the main points clearly presented? Do you find the text easy to read, or is it stilted or choppy? Is the author's argument repetitive?

Evaluating a source (a book or an article, for instance) begins with a critical look at the bibliographic citation--the written description of a book, journal article, essay, or some other published material that appears in a catalog, bibliography, or database.

Examine the publisher (name of the press or the journal publisher), date of publication, presence of an index and a bibliography, and author affiliations.

What can you deduce about the reliability of the source through this preliminary examination?

This page was adapted with permission from the following:

http://guides.library.cornell.edu/criticallyanalyzing

Critically Analyzing Information Sources
Research & Learning Services
Olin Library
Cornell University Library 
Ithaca, NY, USA

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