Annotated bibliography

Essay topic:Is social media the new digital gold rush

Write out a thesis statement

Find three articles to support this topic, and write 3 summaries and 3 short reflection on the three articles.

The file shows the requirements and example.

Annotated Bibliography: An Overview and Example

This document provides an overview of the elements contained within an annotated

bibliography. An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, journal articles, and

documents that provides an account of the research that has been done on a given topic. Like any

bibliography, an annotated bibliography is an alphabetical list of research sources. In this course,

we will use the American Psychological Association (APA) style. In addition to bibliographic data,

an annotated bibliography provides a concise summary of each source and some assessment of its

value or relevance. The first step in creating an annotated bibliography is to locate and record

citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your

topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items and choose those works that provide a variety of

perspectives on your topic. Once you have selected your articles, you can then proceed to create your

annotated bibliography. There are generally four major sections to an annotated bibliography:

1. The citation (i.e., the reference) according to the appropriate citation style (MLA, APA, etc.);
2. A brief (about 150 words) summary of the article that summarizes the purpose of the article, the

central theme and scope of the article, and the findings—all which shows among other things that

you have read and thoroughly understand the source;

3. Salient quotes from the article (usually a minimum of two quotes no more than three sentences
long):

4. A short (about 150 to 200 words) reflection on the article that provides a concise summary of
that article’s value or relevance to your research. Questions to consider answering in your

reflection may include the following:

a. Is the article useful for your study? Explain why or why not.
b. What did you, or did you not, agree with?
c. What intrigued you about the article?
d. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the article?
e. Did the article raise any questions for you about your research?
f. How do the findings of the article compare with findings of other articles?
g. Did the author(s) have a particular bias or were they trying to reach a specific audience?

Annotated bibliographies are extremely useful when conducting research and they can save you

significant time when it comes to writing-up your research paper. Annotated bibliographies are

useful for the following reasons:

1. Annotated bibliographies force you to better understand your research topic, as they help you to
make connections to other literature and provide you with background information on your topic.

2. They help you logically organize the research that has been conducted on your topic and make
sense of it.

3. They help you with your statement of purpose—refining it and ensuring it is concise and clear.
4. They help you improve your research skills.
5. They prevent you from intentionally delaying your research.
6. The summaries and quotes obtained in the annotated bibliography can be pulled out and used in

your research paper—saving you significant time when writing-up your research paper!

7. Annotated bibliographies are also useful not only to the individual researcher who creates the
bibliography, but also to later researchers who might follow the same or similar paths.

An example of the layout and structure of an annotated bibliography is provided on the following

page. Each entry of an annotated bibliography begins on a new page.

2

Juris, S. J. (2014). Embodying protest: Culture and performance within social movements. In B.

Baumgarten, P. Daphi, & P. Ullrich (Eds.), Conceptualizing culture in social movement

research (pp. 227-247). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Summary: Juris examines the link between culture and performance within contemporary social

movements. The dynamics of performance within social movements is explored in relation to four

types of performative protests: Macro-level protest events, micro-level embodied performance

events, protest theatre, and musical performances. Within each category, Juris uses examples of

recent social movements (e.g., the Occupy movement, gay liberation movement, and the civil rights

movement), activist groups (e.g., Act Up and Black Panthers), and theatre and music troupes (e.g.,

Billionaires for Bush, Infernal Noise Brigade, and Pink and Silver). Through an examination of these

cultural performances, Juris provides evidence that the events produce both internal and external

effects. With respect to external effects, Juris argues that social movement performances generate

alternative meanings, values, and identities that call attention to a societal issue and thus help to

transform cultural patterns by encouraging public debate, motivating further action, and by

introducing new worldviews. Regarding the internal dimension, Juris suggests that social movement

performances can produce powerful emotions that help forge new identities, provide collective

agency, and help sustain social movements.

Quotes:

“[I]t is through cultural performance that alternative meanings, values, and identities are produced,

embodied, and publicly communicated within social movements” (p. 227).

“In relation to the other types of protest performance examined here [i.e., micro-level, protest theatre,

and musical performances], macro-level protest events are uniquely suited to producing feelings of

belonging to a larger movement and eliciting images that convey the existence of a mass-based

collective actor” (p. 235).

“Like other modes of activist performance, protest theatre attests to the generative nature of social

movement culture and its capacity to move beyond the divide between mind and body, the cultural

and the physical. In contrast to other forms of performative protest, however, formally theatrical

types of protest are capable of producing more targeted messages, of more directly engaging an

audience, and of being deployed in more diverse and everyday settings” (p. 239).

Reflection: Juris’ article has left me wondering about the level and type of activism and performance

used within the queer social movement. Play has always been an important social justice tool and it

has had profound impacts on challenging conventional worldviews. However, uses of direct forms of

activism (i.e., demonstrations, marches, and protests) by social movement organizations have

appeared to wither in favour of indirect forms (i.e., parades and celebrations). At the same time, and

largely the result of greater social acceptance, greater uses of queer arts-based social justice

approaches have emerged, leading to the creation of new social movement organizations such as

queer-focused theatre groups. These new social movement organizations offer new forms of voice,

agency, and engagement. However, I am left with several questions:

1. Has the level of ‘performance’ within the queer social movement changed, or has the type of
‘performance’ simply been modified to reflect current social views and norms?

2. How do these ‘new’ performers understand the social benefits of their work?
3. What impact do these new social movement organizations have on the overall queer social

movement?