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EDUC 369: Action Research

Undertaking an Annotated Bibliography

Purpose of the Annotated Bibliography

Before you start your action research project you need to find out what other research has been done on the issues it relates to, which will then influence how you conduct your own project.  An annotated bibliography might include sources that provide: 1) background on the issues, 2) evidence 3) arguments or 4) methods.  A good annotation is not simply a descriptive summary of the article, rather it is a critical summary of the article which includes discussion of how this work contributes (or will contribute) to your project.

Suggestion: Use BEAM to Help Guide Your Annotations

The BEAM method asks you to consider how you will use and integrate sources into your paper, and to identify the different roles each source will play in your writing.  Review and reference the definitions below to guide your analysis and selection of sources. 

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Justina Elmore, University of Rochester. Adapted from Kristin M. Woodward & Kate Ganski's "What Could A Writer Do With This Source?" {{cc-by-4.0}}