CYBR 780 - Design and Operations for Cyber Human Systems

By now, you will have gathered a number of peer-reviewed scholarly sources on the topic of your research paper. Using those sources, you will create an annotated bibliography.  When creating an annotated bibliography its always important to provide a provisional thesis statement and a short statement of additional research needed. For each of your sources, you should include the following: 

1. The bibliographic citation in APA 7 format. 
2. A paragraph in which you summarize the contents of the article, chapter, or book. In your summary, try to answer the following questions:
   • What is the point of this article/chapter/book? In other words, why is the author writing it?
   • What are its main arguments?
   • What methods and/or evidence does the author rely upon?
   • What are its main conclusions?
3. A paragraph in which you assess the source and its usefulness for your research paper.

In your assessment, try to answer some or all of the following questions:

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the article/chapter/book? Consider the argument as well as the evidence used to support it. 
• How can you use this source in your research paper? In other words, how does it help you shape your argument?
• How does it articulate with your other sources?
• Has it changed how you think about your topic?

This exercise is meant to help you figure out how to use your sources to come up with an original thesis or argument for your research paper. If you can’t figure out how your sources work together or if there seem to be holes, that is also useful information. It means you may need to track down some additional sources or refine your topic further. If this is the case, I am happy to help you figure out your next steps. So that you have a realistic sense of where you are and what you need to do, please include the following at the end of your annotated bibliography:

Here is an example of an APA 7 reference entry for an annotated bibliography. First, we have the citation in APA 7 format. In this example, the citation we are citing a book, but no matter the resource - electronic article, website, video, etc.-  we always begin an entry in the annotated bibliography with the citation. 

Following the citation, we will provide a summary paragraph of the work.  It is important that this summary paraphrased in your own words. DO NOT just copy the abstract or summary of a work that you are citing.

Finally, we provide a paragraph that assesses the value of the work as it fits into your research. How is this resource useful?  What key points in your research does it address or how does it support your assertions?  It is also important to acknowledge areas that the article may not cover.  This is valuable information since it helps you to identify areas where further reading and/or research is necessary to support your work.