These are some great databases to search for newspaper, magazine, and scholarly articles and books on your topic! Search using the search connectors AND and OR.
Additional Political Science databases
Dr. Showden requires you to use the APSR format for your citations. The APSR format was created by the American Political Science Association for the journal American Political Science Review. We have the print guide available in reference and a quick guide available as PDF (see below). If you have questions, please contact Lynda or your professor!
Style Manual for Political Science (American Political Science Association)
ref JA86 .A4860 2001
Quick Guide to citation format of the American Political Science Association (PDF)
Descriptive v. Critical: Adapted from Creating an Annotated Bibliography
A descriptive annotation describes the source: what type of source it is, who created it, and what it contains:
Zinn, Howard. 1997. A People's History of the United States. New York: New Press.
This book covers American history from the point of view of various underrepresented groups. It contains a large amount of firsthand information and some interesting illustrations.
A critical annotation evaluates the source and its argument. It also provides perspective on why this particular source is significant to the subject of the annotated bibliography.
Zinn, Howard. 1997. A People's History of the United States. New York: New Press.
In this book the history of the United States is seen from the viewpoint of people who were not necessarily beneficiaries of American democracy. The book concentrates on the experiences of slaves, American Indians, women, and other disenfranchised groups and how they were affected by the major events in American history. It also includes excerpts from primary sources that show many of the country's most famous individuals as members of an elite upper class rather than as idealized heroes. Zinn emphasizes in the introduction that his intent is not to demonize figures such as revolutionary leaders, but to portray them in a more realistic light, as people who, while contributing to the development of the United States, were influenced by the prejudices of their time. As a source of information that is usually not included in history books, A People's History of the United States is invaluable to the study of American History.
Questions to consider when writing an annotation:
Examples of annotations from three annotated bibliographies (PDF)
Annotate this article! (PDF)
Page Author: Lynda Kellam
