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Communication Studies

What is an annotated bibliography? 

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations, complete with a brief description of each one. These descriptions are meant to evaluate the source, put it into context, and explain why it is relevant. For more information on annotated bibliographies, including information on how to write them, visit the below link:

About Annotated Bibliographies by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center 

Writing annotated bibliographies

Annotated bibliographies include brief statements about each source. These annotations may take one (or more) of the following forms:

  • Descriptive: states the topic of the source only
  • Summary: summarizes the source but does not take a stance or make an argument about the source
  • Evaluative: evaluates the source, which may include placing the work in context of other research or evaluating its usefulness

Annotations may include any number of the following elements:

  • Full citation and publication information. Use a consistant citation style; bibliographies always include this element
  • Information about the author(s) and their motives
  • Summary of the source
  • Evaluation of the source, including what makes the source useful for your research or for your audience
  • Information about the intended audience of the source, including any potential author bias
  • Context for the source, including how it compares to other sources in the bibliography

For more information on citations, see Citation Resources: Manuals and Guides

Annotation Example

The following example is based on MLA citation style. Check with your professor to see if they have additional or alternative information they would like included in your annotations.

Churchill, Suzanne, and Adam McKible. "Little Magazines and Modernism:
An Introduction." American Periodicals, vol. 15, no. 1, 2005, pp. 1-5. JSTOR, https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.lib.davidson.edu/stable/20771167.
Authors Suzanne Churchill and Adam McKible are established
researchers of little magazines, having written multiple books and articles on the subject. This academic article serves as an introduction to little magazines and to an issue of American Periodicals devoted to them. As such, it seeks to define little magazines and place them in the context of their time: at the center of modernism. While the article does not necessarily present new scholarship or ideas about the periodicals, it does provide a useful and enthusiastic introduction to them. This article is particularly useful because it seeks to provide a definition for little magazines that is more inclusive than definitions found in other sources.

 

  • Full citation
  • Information about the authors
  • Information about the intended audience
  • Summary
  • Evaluation
  • Context

[Zotero] Make Annotated Bibliographies Using "Nature Biotechnology" and "Journal of Immunology"

To create an annotated bibliography using the nature biotechnology citation style, follow the below steps:

1. Install the nature biotechnology citation format. 

Zotero does not have the nature biotechnology citation style pre-installed. However, it's relatively simple to download the applicable plugin. Follow the below steps: 

  1. Visit Zotero's style repository
  2. Search "Nature Biotechnology" in the search box 
  3. Download the file
  4. Open the downloaded file, and Zotero will automatically add it to your default style options.

2. Download the below plugin. This custom file (created by Jayme Sponsel) exports user-created annotations from Zotero's "extra" field.

3. Annotate each source using Zotero's "Extra" field.  

For each citation, add your annotation in Zotero's "extra" field, as demonstrated below:

 

4. Using the "Quick Cite" method, export each citation using the "Nature Biotechnology Annotated" format (shown below):

4. Format the citation so the annotation is properly aligned with the citation.

When you first export your citation, the annotation will trail the citation as shown below: 

You'll need to move the annotation to the next line and indent it. When finished, the citation should look like this: 

To create an annotated bibliography using the Journal of Immunology citation style, follow the below steps:

1. Download the below plugin. This custom file exports user-created annotations from Zotero's "extra" field.

2. Annotate each source using Zotero's "Extra" field.  

For each citation, add your annotation in Zotero's "extra" field, as demonstrated below:

 

3. Using the "Quick Cite" method, export each citation using the "Journal of Immunology Annotated" format (shown below):

4. Format the citation so the annotation is properly aligned with the citation.

When you first export your citation, the annotation will trail the citation as shown below: 

You'll need to move the annotation to the next line. When finished, the citation should look like this: 

 

[Zotero] Create Annotated Bibliographies Using Other Formats

  1. Download the citation format you want to edit from Zotero's style repository
  2. Open the file using a text editor 
  3. Rename the code and make the following edits
    1. In the field beginning with <title>, add "Annotated" to the citation's name
    2. In the field beginning with <id>, add "-Annotated" to the citation's link
    3. In the field 2 lines down (beginning <link href) , add "-Annotated" to the citation's link
      • Steps 3i-3iii are demonstrated below:
    4. Above the third to last field (</layout>), create a new line with the following code:
      • <text variable="note" prefix=". "/>
        • Step 3iv is demonstrated below:
          •  
  4. Download the edited code 
  5. Using Zotero, annotate each source using the "extra" field
    • This is demonstrated below:
      • ​​​​​​
  6. Using the "Quick Cite" method, export each citation using the edited format
  7. Format the citation so the annotation is properly aligned with the citation.
    • You'll need to move the annotation to the next line and indent it. When finished, the annotation should look like this:

[Zotero] Adding Links to All Citations

Using default settings, Zotero only attaches URLs to articles lacking specified page ranges. To include URLs on all citations (articles, journals, and newspapers), follow the below steps: 

1. Under Zotero's settings, select "preferences." 

2. Select the "Cite" submenu. 

3. Check the box entitled "Include URLs of Paper Articles in References." 

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