SHE3001 Social Bases of Health: Overview

Annotated Bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An Annotated Bibliography is a list of sources on a particular topic. Sources may include books, journal articles, credible online documents and webpages (check your Assessment description for permitted sources). The usual format of an Annotated Bibliography is a citation presented in a specific referencing style followed by a concise annotation with information on the content, topic relevance, and quality of the cited source.

Here are a list of some resources explaining what an Annotated bibliography is, the purpose, and how to write it.

APA Referencing

Refer to the APA referencing guide to learn how to create a reference list and insert in-text references.

Steps to a successful assignment

  1. Collect all your information about the assignment.
  • The Assessment Description & Rubric for the assignment
  • The type of resources required for your Reference List e.g. books, journal articles
  • Notes from classes on how to do the assignment
  1. Analyse and prepare
  1. Read for Information
  • Read Required Reading and make notes
  • Read the additional articles etc. for information not in the Required Reading
  • Prepare each Reference as you read it, ensure it is written in the APA referencing style. See the APA Referencing Guide for further assistance
  1. Start writing
  • Collect notes from your reading and start to build your assignment
  • Write the correct References for each of your readings for your Reference List

What are keywords?

Key words are words in an assessment question or topic that tell you the approach you should take when responding to the assessment task. 

Keywords can include:

Content Words      

  • Tell you what the topic area is
  • Help you to focus your research and reading on the correct area
  • Think about synonyms or similar words, eg. physical activity OR fitness OR exercise  

 

 

Source: University of New South Wales 

Limiting Words 

  • Tell you what area(s) to focus on, eg. obesity and overweight
  • Define the topic area further, eg. obesity and overweight in Australia
  • Indicate aspects of the topic area you should narrowly concentrate on,eg. childhood obesity and overweight in Australia.

 

 

Task Words

  • Tell you what to do; the action(s) you need to perform, eg. compare, contrast, describe, summarise.

Keyword search strategies 

Once you have analysed your topic and done some preliminary reading you are ready to break down the topic into areas for research.The next step is to identify keywords that you can use to search for information on your topic. Use these words in Library Search to find relevant resources.

Select  keywords from both the topic and your readings. Keywords can be single words or phrases. You will need to use a variety of keywords to ensure you cover all aspects of the topic and apply the following strategies to combine them

  • using Boolean logic (AND, OR & NOT), for example, Obesity AND overweight
  • think of possible synonyms and related words or phrases, for example, "physical activity" OR exercise OR fitness OR sport
  • search exact phrases by enclosing the phrase in quotes, for example, "type 2 diabetes"
  • find a term with variant spelling  by using a hash (#), for example, entering  behavio#r will find both behavior and behaviour
  • find a term with various endings by using a truncation symbol represented by an asterisk (*), for example, inactiv* will retrieve inactive, inactivity and inactivities
  • group terms together by placing them in parentheses, for example, ("physical activity" OR exercise OR fitness OR sport)

View the videos in this guide to learn how to search for books, e-books and journal articles available  at  Victoria University Library.

Keyword searching strategies video

Keyword search strategies from Victoria University Library on Vimeo.

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