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REL114: Christian Sexual Ethics: Using and Evaluating Sources

Annotated Bibliography

An image titled Writing your Annotated Bibliography. Below the title is the following sentence: An annotated bibliography is a list of sources you intend to use in your research project, including a description of each source. Below this the image is split into two sections labeled Citation and Annotation. Under citation is the following text: Citation in APA or MLA format. Not sure which one to use? Check your assignment sheet or ask your instructor. Under the section annotation is the definition: A description of your source, which may include one or more of the following: Below that are 3 subsections: 1. summary of the article. 2 analysis of the source, and 3. relevance to the research. Under Summary of the article is the following text: Briefly describe the main point of the article. What was the argument? If it was a research study, what was the objective and what were the results? How would you describe the article to someone who had never read it? Below 2. Analysis of the source reads "Evaluate the reliability of the resource. Is the author an authority on this topic? What is the purpose of the source? Is there bias in the article? How does it compare with your course content? Where did the evidence come from? Below 3. Relevance to the Research is the following text: Reflect on how you will use this source in your research. How does it answer your research question? How does it help you shape your argument? Does it provide background information, evidence, arguments, or methodologies? At the very bottom of the image it says: Depending on the project your annotation may include one or more of these, so make sure to follow the instructions for the assignment or ask your instructor.

Citation Guide links

Citing sources correctly is important to any research project, whether it be a paper, presentation, or speech. Citation styles govern more than just the 'Works Cited' page. They provide guidance on citations, in-text citations, formatting the paper, title pages, and more. Each style has slightly different formatting, but most require the same information. The following guides and tools will help you format your projects correctly.

More Citation Resources

Step 1: Video

Let's start with the most difficult to evaluate type of source: websites. This video will walk you through two different websites and the evaluation criteria. How we answer or satisfy each criteria might differ for each source.

Evaluation Criteria things to consider when evaluating your source quality. Authority: Who wrote it? What is their expertise? Who do they work for? Why are they trustworthy? How do you know that? Currency: When was this written? How long ago was the info they're quoting published? Has information changed since then? Sources/Data: Where did they get their information? Did they collect it themselves? How did they? If not, what info do they use to prove their point? Purpose: What is the goal of this source? Are they trying to convince you of something? Inform you? Sell you something? Educate you? Point of View: What is the author or organization's perspective? How does that affect their argument? Funding/Transparency: Who funded the research? Who funds the organization? Does that impact their findings? Does that provide potential bias? Explore the source to find evidence to answer these questions. Balance: Does the author provide multiple points of view? Do they address the counterarguments from the other side? Does it provide a balanced view? Organization: Who published the source? What is the goal of the organization? Are they open and transparent about that? Remember that this isn't a check list. Instead, you need to consider the relative strength of the criteria and if the overall quality leans most convincingly for or against use. Charles C. Myers Library

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