In your Unit 4 Individual Project, you will create 5 APA formatted Annotated Bibliographies as part of your Research Methods project. This is a 3-step process, as follows:
Step 1: Search for, find and review existing literature (articles) about the topic that you selected in your DB4 assignment. You may find information in the AIU library and from government websites. Do not use tabloids, Wikipedia, Cliff Notes, Wisegeek or unprofessional sources as references.
Click here
for a review of sources that have been used for research projects.
Click here for instructions on how to create and format an Annotated Bibliography.
Click here to see a sample Annotated Bibliography.
Click here for a blank template to begin writing your Annotated Bibliography. Save the document to your computer.
When you search for and review preexisting literature for your Research Methods project, try
to use scholarly articles (if that is possible). You may discover information from many sources,
to include the following:
1. Scholarly Journals
2. Professional Journals
3. Entertainment Magazines (inappropriate for use in a Research Methods project)
4. Government Websites
What is the difference in the above 4 listed sources? The differences are explained below:
1. Scholarly Journals
Scholarly journals have academic articles in them. They are also called “periodicals” in the
library. They are written by researchers in specific areas of study, such as in criminal justice,
business, the medical field, etc. To achieve recognition as being scholarly, an article is first
submitted to other peer researchers (who are usually in the same academic discipline) to be
“peer reviewed,” critiqued and evaluated. Peer reviewers determine if the article should be
published in a scholarly journal. This review process helps to ensure that only high-quality
research articles are published in scholarly journals.
o Key: Authors of scholarly articles must cite the sources that they use in their paper.
2. Professional Journals or Trade Journals
Professional journals are also known as trade journals. They are written by subject matter
experts for people who work in a specific trade. For example, there are professional journals
for criminal justice in specialized areas such as forensics, school resource officers, fraud
investigations, corrections, parole operations, etc. Trade journals require an author to have
background knowledge about their profession. The articles that they write are not necessarily
scholarly. Trade journals are somewhere “between scholarly journals and magazines.”
Professional articles address specific workplace issues by providing insightful solutions.
o Keys: Professional articles are written by subject matter experts who provide innovative
solutions and ideas for overcoming unique workplace issues.
o They are not required to cite sources because authors are subject matter experts.
3. Entertainment Magazines
What Kind of Articles Should
I Use in my Research Project?
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/scholarly
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peer
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/critique
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/tradesman
https://www.opm.gov/faqs/qa.aspx?fid=a6da6c2e-e1cb-4841-b72d-53eb4adf1ab1&pid=c9d6d33b-a98c-45f5-ad76-497565d58bcf
https://www.opm.gov/faqs/qa.aspx?fid=a6da6c2e-e1cb-4841-b72d-53eb4adf1ab1&pid=c9d6d33b-a98c-45f5-ad76-497565d58bcf
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/background%20knowledge
Journalists write interesting articles for magazines, either for entertainment or to provide
information – or for both. Journalists may or may not have subject matter expertise about the
topic that they are writing about. They present information to a large audience, to the public,
and to laypeople, professionals, retirees, students and anyone else who will pay for the
magazine. Generally, entertainment magazines are not appropriate for academic research,
although there may be occasional exceptions. Examples of entertainment magazines include:
Entertainment Weekly – https://ew.com/
Daily Mail – https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
Star Magazine – https://starmagazine.com/
People Magazine – https://people.com/
Etc.
o Key: Entertainment magazine are not required to provide references at the end of each
article.
4. Government Websites
City, county, state and federal government websites may publish criminal justice data that is
relevant to your research methods project, such as crime statistics, recidivism rates,
incarceration rates, juvenile crime rates, case studies, legal or legislative updates, etc.
o Key: The usefulness of government websites varies greatly.
That’s it!
https://ew.com/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
https://starmagazine.com/
https://people.com/
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/legislative
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Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
