Biology

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources you will be using in your presentation. It will include an APA-style reference for each source, arranged alphabetically according to the authors' names, as you would normally do for a reference list.

However, below each entry you will also include a paragraph telling your reader something about the article and how it relates to your own research topic. Working through an annotated bibliography is usually done as part of the researching and writing of a larger project; it's also good practice in reading scientific articles and learning to summarize and evaluate them in terms of your own research. Learning how to critically read scientific information and integrating it with your own writing is a crucial skill for communicating in the sciences. 

See the example below of an annotation of an article from Plant Ecology.

Guidelines vary on how long your annotations should be, but in general 3-5 well-organized sentences should be enough to convey the most important information. You will probably write something in the range of 150-200 words. 

But what should be included?

At a minimum, your notes should provide:

• a brief summary sentence or two on the nature and scope of the research
• an indication of the author(s) credentials or expertise in the area
• possible shortcomings, biases, or errors in methods
• your own consideration as to the significance of the work and how it relates to other research in the area
• reflect on how it is going to be used in your own work 

Tip: Check with your instructor for more specific instructions on formatting and content of annotations.

For a more targeted search of the library's collection relating to climate change and plant science, these links below will take you to the most relevant databases.

Zotero is a free browser tool that keeps track of your articles, books, and webpages, and creates citations in several formats. Sign up for a free account, and your personal library will be accessible from any computer with an internet connection.

For help learning how to use Zotero, please visit Zotero.org for downloading and support.

Tip: Use Zotero's NOTES feature to add notes to your saved PDFs. As you are doing your research and considering whether or not to use an article for your bibliography, adding notes as you go will save you time in the long run.

Also available for free, Mendeley allows you to import articles in PDF format from supported websites as well as stored on your local device, making them accessible from anywhere. You can references and bibliographies in many styles. 

Tip: Use the NOTEBOOK feature to make notes on the articles you save. This will make your work easier to organize!