Presentation for BIO 502 covering how to write annotations, importance of review articles, citations tools, and searching for biological information

1. Biological Research and Policy
– Annotations, Review Articles
and Citation Tools
H. Stephen McMinn, Biology Subject Librarian
Brookens Library

2. Topics
 Biological Science – Library Resources
 Abstracts vs. Annotated Bibliographies
 Review Articles
 Bibliographic Management Tools

3. Library Resources - Primary
 Biological Abstracts
 Medline – 3 Access Points
 Web of Science – Multidisciplinary
 Scopus - Multidisciplinary

4. Library Resources - Secondary
 Chemical Abstracts – SciFinder
 Agricola – National Agricultural Library
 Academic Search Complete –
Multidisciplinary -- Broadest

5. Abstract vs. Annotated Bibliography
The Abstract --
 A summary of a work’s content
 Like all summaries, abstracts cover the
main points of a piece of writing
 Abstracts help you decide whether an
article is relevant for your purposes

6. The Annotated Bibliography
 A list of sources that provides publication
information and a short description of each
source called an annotation
 Some annotations merely describe the
content and scope of the source
 Others evaluate the source’s authority,
currency, and relevance to a researcher’s
purpose

7. What is an Annotation?
 A descriptive summary or explanation of
a resource
 Provides information about the content
of the material
 Provides an evaluation or critique of a
resource (an evaluative summary)

8. Why Write an Annotation?
Purpose of writing an annotation:
– Show that you’ve done thorough research
– Provide additional information to make it easier to
use the bibliography
– Get a better sense of the “scholarship” on the
subject matter
– Provide the reader with enough information to
know whether they want to look at the resource for
their own research

9. Things to include in an
Annotation:
 Summary of: Purpose, arguments and
ideas
 Description of what is included in the
material - some specifics
 Evaluation and critique of its relevance
to the research project at hand

10. Mechanics…
 Use complete sentences. Keep them in the
same present verb tense.
 Use your own ideas, words and sentences.
Do not simply quote the author.
 Each annotation should be 3 to 5 sentences
long. But sometimes it will be necessary to
provide more than this.
 Give a description of what the resource is
about.

11. Books/Book Chapters -- Where to
get information for annotations
 Read, review and thoroughly examine the book or
chapter.
 For books:
– read the book, the introduction, the preface, the
chapter titles and the summaries.
– If you can’t read the entire book, read the chapters
that are relevant to your research.
– Make note of additional items such as graphics,
pictures, charts, index, works cited list, and notes.

12. Articles -- Where to Get
Information for annotations
 Read, review and thoroughly examine the article.
 For articles:
– Read the entire article.
– Make special note of the introductions to the article
and the conclusions or summaries drawn.
– Do not simply quote the summary or abstract provided
at the beginning of scholarly journal articles.
– Decide whether the additional information provided,
such as images, and graphs, are useful in supporting
the text.

13. Article - Example
Erinosho, Stella Y. “The Making of Nigerian Women
Scientists and Technologists,” Journal of
Career Development 24.1 (1991) : 71-80.

14. Abstract
The article focuses on issues related to Nigerian women
scientists and technologists. Data on Nigerian universities
indicate a dismal representation of women in science and
technology. Women constituted a mere 17 percent of the
total enrollment for science-related programmes in 1984 and
21 percent in 1988. Men outnumbered women by
approximately 4:1 within the same period (1984-1988). The
ratio of men to women in engineering was 19:1 in 1984 and
13:1 in 1988 while for veterinary medicine it was 10:1 in
1984 and 6:1 in 1988.

15. Annotation
Women in Nigerian universities represented only 17% of
scientific-related enrollees in 1984 & 1988 respectively. The
purpose of this survey was to determine what some of the
factors are that reinforce women’s desire for and success in
the sciences in Nigeria. Provides biographic portraits of a
few successful Nigerian women. Includes survey data with
responses from 209 of 520 Nigerian women in science and
technology professions and university departments.

16. Book -- Example
Irukwu, Enoh Etuk. Footprints: The Evolution of the
Nigerian Woman. Lagos, Nigeria: Talkback
Publishers Limited, 1994.
This book provides an overview and examination from
the beginning of Nigerian independence in 1960. Offers
a brief examination of some historical moments wherein
Nigerian women came to the fore. Sets the tone for
Nigerian women’s progression since independence and
situates their role in the development of the entire
nation.

17. Another Book Example
Nwankwo, Nkechi. Gender Equality in Nigerian Politics.
Lagos, Nigeria: Deutchetz Publishers, 1996.
Being the editor of Sunday Champion and holding a
master’s degree in mass communications provides the
author with a good foundation for examining the role of
the mass media in hindering and potentially enabling
Nigerian women’s participation in politics. Examines
obstacles to women’s power, representation, and
participation in the media. The author utilizes the
example of Norway for examining strategies for
increasing women’s participation in politics.

18. Review Articles
Review articles are an attempt to summarize the
current state of understanding on a topic. A review
article re-presents previously published material,
rather that reporting new facts or analysis. Review
articles are sometimes also called survey articles or,
in news publishing, overview articles.

19. Review Articles vs. Peer Review
 Review Articles are by definition Peer
Reviewed
 Peer Review – More than Editorial Review
as Reviewed by Peers in the Field

20. Elements of Review Articles
 Defines and clarifies the topic or problem
 Summarizes previous investigations in order to
inform the reader of the current state of research
 Identifies relations, contradictions, gaps, and
inconsistencies in the literature
 Suggests the next step or steps in addressing the
topic or solving the problem
 Heavily Cited – Large Bibliographies

21. Locating Review Articles
 Review Journals…
– Annual Reviews …, Progress in …, Survey on…,
Quarterly Reviews…, Trends in…, etc.
 Using Indexes and Abstracts
– Review vs “Review”

22. Citations
 Always get the complete citation
information
Article title, journal title, author(s), year, volume,
issues, pages, and abstract/notes
 Keep track of searches, notes, ideas, etc.
 Fully cite sources = avoiding plagiarism

23. Tips
 Use a citation management system
 Such as RefWorks, Zotero, Mendeley, etc.
 One word for these: invaluable.
 More work in NOT learning how to use
these tools