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Anatomy and Physiology Journal of Articles: Annotated Bibliography

Research, Citation and Annotated Bibliography

Purpose of Annotation

The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

APA Citation and Annotation Example

Brown, V. (2003, Sep). Disrupting a delicate balance: Environmental effects on the thyroid.Environmental Health Perspectives, , A642-A649. Retrieved from https://sks.sirs.com

This article details how scientists are attempting to improve research techniques to better understand how external environmental  presence of toxins and chemicals negatively affect the endocrine system and in turn the entire body, especially for fetuses and the very young. The article provides an overview of the endocrine system and its import to the body, and illustrates how the endocrine system presents specific challenges to researchers that makes reaching conclusions slow going. Valerie Brown is an award-winning science journalist who presents a detailed, thorough and seemingly objective overview of the state of current research on the endocrine system devoid of political leanings or emotional language. Although this article is not current, it gives me important background about where endocrine research was in 2003, and allows me to chart how much progress has happened since. This article helped me understand why research in this area moves slowly but also showed me how vital it is that we continue this work. 

Anatomy of an Annotation

For annotated bibliographies, use standard APA format for the citations, then add a brief entry, featuring:

 2 to 4 sentences to summarize the main idea(s) of the source

  •  What are the main arguments?
  • What is the point of this book/article?
  • What topics are covered?

1 or 2 sentences to assess and evaluate the source

  •  How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography?
  •  Is this information reliable?
  •  Is the source objective or biased?

1 or 2 sentences to reflect on the source

  •  Was this source helpful to you?
  •  How can you use this source for your research project?
  • Has it changed how you think about your topic? 

Helpful Video Guide to Annotating

ABSTRACT VS. ANNOTATION

ABSTRACT: A descriptive summary that appears at the beginning of a scholarly article

ANNOTATION: A paragraph that is both descriptive (summarizes) AND critical(evaluates quality of source, potential biases and how relevant it is to your research)