An annotated bibliography is a list of sources such as books, scholarly articles, websites, videos on a given topic. Each citation from the list is followed by a brief paragraph describing the content of the source. For instance, if the assignment is to create a cyber bullying annotated bibliography, a required number of relevant works on the subject should be found and arranged according to a specific order, and one of the citation styles. After reviewing the sources, one has to add a summary of the author’s ideas in about 150 words.
Common citation styles are as follows:
- American Psychological Association style (APA);
- Modern Language Association (MLA);
- Chicago or Turabian;
- Associated Press (AP);
- Council of Science Editors (CSE).
Depending on the researcher’s purpose, there are three main types of annotations: descriptive, informative, and critical. Descriptive annotation defines the main purpose of the work, the intended audience, and its research methods. Besides, it summarizes the content of the source and gives a brief overview of the author’s conclusions. Informative annotation is quite similar to the descriptive one as it also summarizes the work. Also, it provides the reader with the author’s hypothesis, key points, and message. On the contrary, critical annotation aims to evaluate the source; it comments on the objectiveness of the work, the value of the author’s contribution to the study of the subject, and the accuracy of the content. Critical annotation should also compare the paper with similar works in the analyzed field. However, most of the annotated bibliographies combine the characteristic features of all these three types.
Sample cyber bullying annotated bibliography entry for a journal article (APA).
The joint research of the scholars from the US and South Korea aims to analyze the current status of cyberbullying prevention and intervention, particularly regarding adolescents. The article discusses the alarming rates of cyberbullying among school children in Canada which are constantly increasing due to the ubiquity of social media and various communication platforms. The authors emphasize the necessity of informing school personnel, youth, and parents on the phenomenon of cyberbullying and the ways to avoid it. Moreover, the article touches upon the role of health care providers in preventing cyberbullying and the efficacy of school-based cyberbullying interventions. The authors talk about the activity and main principles of such anti-bullying programs as Medienhelden in Germany, Noncadiamointrappola in Italy, KiVa in Finland, and provide the statistics which reflect their high effectiveness. Also, the scholars, once again, rightfully insist that health care providers must engage in preventing cyberbullying, for instance, by including the corresponding questions in their intake forms.
Sample cyber bullying annotated bibliography entry for a journal article (MLA).
Bonanno, Rina A., and Shelley Hymel. “Cyber Bullying and Internalizing Difficulties: Above and Beyond the Impact of Traditional Forms of Bullying.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 42, 2013, pp. 685–697.
Bonanno and Hymel study the correlation between the exposure to cyberbullying and various internalizing difficulties such as depressive symptomatology and suicidal thoughts. Through the analysis of the collected data, the authors note that due to the accessibility of technology the rates of cyber victimization and cyberbullying are increasing; they affect those exposed to it even more than the traditional forms of bullying. One of the most novel points of the article is the discussion of the impact of bullying on the bullies themselves. Apparently, even though victims demonstrate the highest rates of suicidal ideation, suicides among bullies are still more frequent than among children not involved at all. Bonanno and Hymel have conducted a testing session for high school students and present the statistics on depression symptomatology and suicidal ideation among physical, verbal, social and cyber victims as well as bullies. The results of the research verify the scholars’ hypothesis. The article does not suggest any means of eliminating cyberbullying but rather provides demonstrative evidence of its menace.