Sociology

“What’s the hardest part of writing a research paper in a theory-heavy third-year course?”
 

What's an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a written assignment consisting of a series of entries on a single theme, organized either alphabetically (most common), by date, or by topic. Each entry consists of two parts:

1. A reference to a book, journal article, or other work in a particular citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)
2. A brief summary and/or commentary (annotation) of the source in paragraph form

What's the Purpose of an Annotated Bibliography?

Each annotation enables readers to see the relationship of a number of works to each other and in the context of the topic you are studying. Many annotations are both descriptive (summarizing what the source is about) and critical (evaluating its usefulness or importance).

An annotated bibliography can:

• Present readers with a review of the scholarly works on a specific topic or in a specialized field
• Provide the writer with a more in-depth understanding of a specific topic or specialized field in preparation for conducting further research

What's Included in an Annotation?

The information and analysis provided in annotations may vary, but some examples include:

• Academic credentials, qualifications, and/or expertise of the author(s)
• Research methods the author(s) used
• A summary of the argument and/or findings
• Evaluation of the work, such as the logic of the arguments or value of the evidence
• How the work supports or relates to your own research

To learn more about Annotated Bibliographies and to see an example of an annotation with its different component parts highlighted, check out this handout from MRU's Student Learning Services!

Purpose:

To think beyond broad political topics (e.g., “democracy,” “immigration,” “political polarization”) toward specific, researchable, theory-linked questions.

What is the difference between

• Topic (political polarization in Canada)

• Issue (digital platforms intensify ideological sorting)

• Concept (hegemony, ideology, political socialization, nationalism, state power)

• Researchable question (How does digital platform governance reproduce polarization through processes of algorithmic socialization?)

Quick Excercise

Choose one of the following and transform it into a research question:

• Immigration

• State surveillance

• Colonialism in Canada

• Populism

• Political violence

• Social movements

• Gender & political power

• Climate governance

Try to identify:

Concept(s) (hegemony, governmentality, legitimacy, nationalism, identity, stratification, intersectionality)

Theoretical debate (power, state formation, ideology, civic participation)

A mechanism (how? why?)

Approaches to take to tighten your question

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a great tool for finding quality resources. Unlike regular Google Search, Google Scholar finds academic sources - namely, peer-reviewed articles, books, and grey literature (conference presentations, abstracts, theses, dissertations, and other reports).

• To show library access for up to 5 libraries, click the Settings icon, select Library Links, type “Mount Royal,” and save. If you’re logged into the MRU library, these links should appear automatically when searching.
• The Cited by feature helps you find related articles.

Helpful Search Operators to Use in Google Scholar

Advanced Search is in the menu icon (top left)

Three Layers of Scholarship

Foundational / Seminal Literature

• Classic theorists

• Defines core concepts

• Often older, but still cited

• Role: provide theoretical grounding

Examples:

• Gramsci – hegemony

• Foucault – power/knowledge, governmentality

• Tilly – state formation

• Weber – legitimacy

• Fanon – colonialism

• Anderson – nationalism

*Because these works are heavily cited, you don’t have to read the whole book — you can use authoritative summaries from current scholars or scholarly reference works. 

Theoretical / Conceptual Development

• Scholars who extend/refine foundational theories

• Usually journal articles

• Provide conceptual tools you can adopt

Examples:

• Wendy Brown (neoliberal governance)

• Loïc Wacquant (state, poverty, punishment)

• Kimberlé Crenshaw (intersectionality)

• Charles Tilly (political processes)

• James C. Scott (state simplification)

Empirical Research

• Case studies

• Data-driven

• Uses theory to analyze a specific political instance

Examples:

• Social movement organization studies

• Policing, criminalization, surveillance

• State policy and governance

• Digital governance

• Populism case studies

Activity:  Categorizing Abstracts

Take a look at the following abstracts and vote how you would categorize them. 

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Cite Sources: Learn the correct way to cite sources by using these guides, tutorials, and videos.
Referencing Webinars: APA & MLA. Referencing Webinars are 75 minutes long.  Registration is required.
Online Appointments: Personalized online 30-minute appointments with a Learning Strategist

Take an MLA or APA Referencing Tutorial on D2L!

These self-paced 90-minute tutorials covers the same content as live workshops—why citation is important along with the basics of in-text citations and reference entries. Students who complete the tutorial will gain access to a form they can fill out and submit as proof of completion.

Access the tutorial on D2L: Using Google Chrome as your web browser, log in to D2L (learn.mru.ca) with your @mtroyal.ca account. Click the “Discover” tab, then type “APA”  or "MLA" in the search bar. Click on the “APA Referencing Tutorial”  or "MLA Referencing Tutorial" link and then the “Enroll in Course” button. If you have any questions about the tutorial, contact sls@mtroyal.ca.