Annotated Bibliography
Preparation
We suggest you use an organizing tool from the Capella University Library: More Services and Tools page, such as RefWorks, to help you keep track of your articles. Refer to the helpful links in Resources.
Terms to know for this post:
- Current research article: This can vary depending on the nature of the LSQ; for most searches you must seek articles published in the last five years. For some topics, this restriction may not apply—for example, if writing about psychoanalysis, you will want to cite Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, who published beginning in the late 19th century until his death in 1940. In cases where the restriction does not apply, provide a rationale for choosing an older article.
- Purpose: The purpose of a research proposal is to propose strategies for answering the research question (RQ). The purpose of a theoretical discussion is to outline the nature of a scientific dilemma and consider premises for opposing views as well as to offer possible opinions and solutions to the problem.
- Qualitative investigation: This non-empirical type of inquiry seeks socially constructed descriptions of abstract phenomena.
- Quantitative investigation: Quantitative investigations are empirical inquiries that seek answers to research questions that can be presented in numerical form.
- Research problem: This is also referred to as the gap in the literature. Identify for each article the area of the literature that the scientists publishing their research have identified as needing further exploration. The problem refers to the challenges that the scientific community has in identifying and developing strategies for the discovery of new knowledge.
- Research question: Presented in the form of a question, it represents the foundational inquiry of the article as well as the goal of the research project that has been described in the journal article. The research question drives the investigation and signals whether the project is qualitative or quantitative. Your RQ is not the same as your LSQ.
- Seminal article: This is an article or text that has shaped the history of the field. An example in psychology is Milgram’s 1965 “Some Conditions of Obedience and Disobedience to Authority,” published in Human Relations, which caused research on obedience to develop in new directions and challenged long-held belief systems.
Instructions
Develop and post an annotated bibliography that identifies sources that will help you to answer your literature search question (LSQ).
For this discussion:
- Put your proposed LSQ in interrogative form at the top of the annotated bibliography.
- Include a minimum of 10 articles in your annotated bibliography, eight of which should be other than those identified in your Unit 1 discussion post.
- To choose these articles, it is likely that you will have to read many more than 10 articles. An annotated bibliography involves culling the articles that do not support your LSQ.
- Be sure to select articles published within five years that reflect current knowledge of the topic. For some topics, the use of articles older than five years is appropriate—include a one-sentence rationale for using an older article if this is the case.
- For easy reference, be sure to number each entry in the annotated bibliography.
- Upload your discussion post as a Word document set in 12-point Times New Roman, with all sources cited in current APA style and format. In addition, please copy and paste the document content into the message box for your post submission.
Research Articles
For each research journal article selected, discuss how it relates to your LSQ:
- Identify the authors’ research question.
- Identify the research problem that the authors hope to resolve.
- Identify the methods used by the authors to investigate the research question.
- Identify the results the researchers noted in the discussion of the reported research.
- Explain why you chose the article and how it will help to answer the LSQ.
- Identify whether the article is chosen for its usefulness in terms of theory of method, theory of content, or for both content and method.
Theoretical Articles
For each theoretical journal article selected discuss how it relates to your LSQ:
- Identify the contentions of the authors—the research question, if applicable.
- Identify the problem under discussion and methods used for developing their claims, premises, and suppositions.
- Explain why you believe that this article will help to answer the LSQ.
- Identify whether the article is chosen for its utility in terms of theory of method, theory of content, or for both content and method.
Example
Binnewies, C., Sonnentag, S., & Mojza, E. J. (2009). Feeling recovered and thinking about the good sides of one’s work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(3), 243–256.
Since work conditions are a critical part of employee satisfaction, fostering positive thoughts and feelings can support an individual’s sense of self. In this study, reflecting positively on work increased positive behaviors in employees and their sense of “organizational citizenship” (p. 243). It was also found that reflecting on work in a positive manner, such as in a relaxed state, had a healthy positive outcome, allowing employees to manage their stress more effectively. This study is an example of Bandura’s notion of self-efficacy and how our positive physiological and mental states can influence our own self-efficacy. This article relates to my proposed Integrated Project in terms of both methodology and content.
Response Guidelines
Offer substantive comments and detailed constructive feedback to one peer. What additional topics and subtopics in the literature might he or she consider?
Please respond to a different learner for each discussion.
Resources
- Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.
- RefWorks.
- Library Help.
- Capella Library: More Services and Tools.
- The Annotated Bibliography.
- Capella University Library.
- Principles and Procedures for Writing a Literature Review [PDF].
- APA Style and Format.
