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OMDE 601: Foundations of Distance Education & E-learning

A Library Subject Guide

Annotated Bibliographies

To familiarize yourself with annotated bibliographies, please watch this presentation created by a UMGC librarian: How to Write an Annotated Bibliography. As you can see from the presentation, there are many different ways to create an annotated bibliography (also sometimes called an annotated reference list). The annotations you will create for a research paper will be critical annotations. Each entry in your annotated bibliography should include:

  • A citation of the source, in correct APA format
  • An annotation that includes:
    1. the scope and purpose of the work
    2. a brief description of the content of the source (2-3 sentences)
    3. information explaining the authoritativeness of the author
      • What are his/her credentials and the quality of the research?
      • Is the author an expert in the field?
      • Has the author written other articles on the topic? (Many of the databases include links to the authors that provide a listing of other articles written by them. Some articles provide the authors' academic credentials.)
    4. evaluation of the scholarly value of the article
      • Is it in a scholarly journal?
      • Does it have a reference list consisting mainly of scholarly resources?
    5. evaluation of the objectivity of the article
      • Does the article present more than one point of view?
      • Does the author support the statements s/he makes with facts or evidence or are his/her statements unsubstantiated?
    6. an assessment of the relevance and usefulness of the source to your research question

Sample Annotation Entry

Research question: In a global environment, what is the role of understanding cultural differences in promoting quality management and collaborative teamwork?

Yavas, B. F. & Rezayat, F. (2003). The impact of culture on managerial
  perceptions of quality. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management: 
  CCM,3(2), 213-235. Retrieved from http://ccm.sagepub.com/

This article summarizes the results of a survey aimed at determining the relationship between culture and middle managers' perception of quality in 38 companies in several different locations: the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. One of the authors, Burhan F. Yavas, a professor in the department of finance and quantitative methods at California State University, is the sole author or coauthor of 11 articles about quality management, including several that discuss the significance of culture. The article is in a peer reviewed journal and has an extensive reference list that includes peer reviewed sources. Empirical evidence of the effect of culture on managers' perception of quality is mixed. The authors' analysis of the data and shortcomings of the methodology is objective; it presents both sides of the issue and is supported by evidence and facts from the survey. The literature review and survey data support the significance of consideration of cultural differences when attempting to establish quality management and teamwork in a multicultural work environment. This article would be helpful to academics or managers who are interested in culture and its effect in the workplace.