ONLINE ANNOTATED SUBJECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
GED/GSA 579

FORMAT

Each student is required to create an Online Annotated Bibliography based on a specific subject of research.  
(Note: "Research" can mean a number of things for this project.  Are you researching material exploring a thesis topic?  Or are you listing sources that are of a practical use for a certain audience?  (Look over the reading "From Questions to Problems" handed out in today's  class to get a feel for the type of research you are doing). 

A Bibliography is not simply a listing of any old articles, URLs, or books on a particular topic. It is rather a selective list of information resources that are relevant and valuable to a researcher exploring your topic. The Annotations add to the information by both describing the item and evaluating it. Online implies that the bibliography is published on the students SMC Personalweb page.  (Or Web site of your own choosing - School site, etc)

The Online Annotated Bibliography should contain the following elements: 
(Note - you don't have to use a heading like "Title Page."  Just make sure the elements such as email link, last update, etc are somewhere on your web page).

TITLE PAGE: You should have a link to a Web page with your email address, date of last update (time stamp), instructor's name and class, title/subject. There should be a link to the Table of Contents and Scope Note.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Links from the table of contents to points within the document or to other web "files." 

BACKGROUND PAGE: The  Background Page is a descriptive statement of your chosen research or subject area.   It explains the purpose and scope of your web site and should include the following

    1. The intended audience of the bibliography
    2. The information sources include in your bibliography. For example, if you only use WWW sources or books, say so.  If only WWW sources, are newsgroups, listservs, telnet sites included?
    3. Purpose. Do you have an agenda? Is it persuasive? Is it scholarly? Are you selling something?
    4. Coverage: How in depth is your subject explored?  If it is historical, what is the time period covered.
    5. Give your "credentials" as the author of the bibliography. Are you a professional examining subject areas in your field of knowledge? Are you a novice researcher to the subject field?
    6. Give a brief description of your evaluation methodology for the annotations. What are the main criteria you will be using in evaluating information?  
    7. Very Important -- An Overview of your research:  What journal indexes did you use?  Is there an abundance of material on your subject?   What are the best strategies for researching your topic?  Does your research lead to other areas of related or new research?  
    8. Note whether your Online Annotated  project Web site "stands - alone" or is part of a broader web site.

    NOTE:  This a work in process.  You will continually be broadening, narrowing, and reevaluating the scope of your project as you do your research.  That's a notable part of any research project.

     Length: 2 "pages"

SOURCES: You may include any information media in your bibliography, including print, CD-ROM, WWW, journal articles, video, sound, newsgroups, email discussion groups, or electronic indexes. All WWW sources should include links to the sites.

Citations: All sources should be cited using a consistent style.   
 
WWW sources should include a title and the URL.  Some people may decide to have the URL "hidden" and just have a live link from the text.  This gives a cleaner look to the web page, but does not allow you to print out the site and visually see the urls. 

Depending on your audience, a formal  APA or MLA format might be advised for print materials.  Go to my web site: Citing Internet & Electronic Sources @ http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/sburks/citings.htm for an overview of the subject and links to APA and MLA citing guides.

ANNOTATION: Each Source must be annotated. This should be a description of the item, an indication of why you included it, and an evaluation of the source. Visit the Internet Public Library @ http://www.ipl.org/ref/RR/static/ref0000.html , Choice Online @ http://www.choicereviews.org/rev170choicescripts/  or other sites to see examples of annotations.  The elements of evaluation you should consider for your annotations can be found at ALA Guidelines http://www.ala.org/acrl/undwebev.html   & The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html

     Length: 1-2 paragraphs.  Depending on your audience and purpose  annotation length might vary widely

ORGANIZATION: The organization of the bibliography is up to you. Depending on the subject you choose and the audience you are "broadcasting" to, you might organize your sources by the following:

1. Material type: Books, WWW, Journals, CD-ROM, Search Engines, Indexes, Maps, etc.

2. Reference materials, peer reviewed journals, popular material, etc.

3. By Subject.  Chronologically. 

4. Other:  Given your topic and audience, you may may have a number of ideas on how to organize your web site.  Look over other subject sites on the Internet or past class projects listed at the bottom of the syllabus to give you ideas

WEB SITE DESIGN: The focus of the bibliography is the research you do and the sources you choose and annotate. The web site need only have a simple "table of contents" with links to either points within the document or to other web pages. Graphics, icons, and multimedia, or other web design elements may be included, but are not a mandated component of this bibliography.  Look over See Design Issues for a Better Web Site to review elememnts of web style required for this project.   Another possibility is an Online Bibliographic Essay (see http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/rginerdeoriol/thematic_instruction.htm )

Navigation Scheme:  Each Web site should include a simple navigation scheme.  Three example sites are available below.

1. Links within a page @ http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/nmurray/online_bibliography.htm

2. Links  from web page to another file created in FrontPage @ http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/ssanchez/home_page.htm 

3. A combination of both links within and links to other files.   The class syllabus is an example.  You can link within the document or to assignments outside the document. 

DEADLINES:  These are general deadlines to keep you on track with your project.  Your bibliography will change and adapt over time.

OPTIONS: Please talk to me if you have something else in mind for your project. 

Past Class Projects @ http://academics.smcvt.edu/sburks/Information_Literacy/Fall2002.htm#Other_Links