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BIOL 651: Mammalogy (Patrick)

This guide is for Biology 651 - Mammalogy taught by Dr. Lorelei Patrick.

An annotation is a brief description of a resource used to support your research.

A good annotation has four pillars:

  • Citation
  • Analysis
  • Assessment
  • Reflection

Citations provide information on where to find the information again. 

Analyses provide information on what the source is about.

Assessments provide information on why this information is good information.

Reflections provide information on how you will use the information to support your research.

A good analysis 1) identifies the main arguments the author is making and 2) identifies the types of evidence used to support those arguments. Consider things like:

  • What claims are the authors making?
  • What types of evidence are they using to support these claims?
    • Did they do original research?
    • Did they review the research of others?

Here is an example of a good analysis:

In this article, the authors claim that structural change is needed in order to support working parents. They conducted interviews with more than 1,000 persons with children working in the industry and discovered that workers cited childcare conflicts are their greatest barrier to advancement.

This analysis identifies the major claims (that structural change is needed and that childcare conflicts are a barrier to advancement) and then identifies the type of evidence used to support those claims (interviews with more than 1,000 working parents).

A good assessment provides details on the validity of the information. Consider things like:

  • Is the information from a scholarly source or is it peer-reviewed?
  • Is the information current for the field?
    • e.g. a fast-paced field like medicine has different currency needs than a slower-paced field like history.
  • Is the author an expert on the topic? What are their credentials?
  • What are the limitations of the data they used?

 

Here is an example of a good assessment:

Jane Smith, a professor of microbiology who has authored more than twenty papers on the topic, published this article in the peer-reviewed publication Science last year. The longitudinal study she used took care to use good methodology, however, the conclusions are specific to a limited situation and cannot be applied across the board.

This assessment names the author, provides information on her credentials (she is a professor and has authored many papers on the topic), gives information on the credibility of the source (peer-reviewed journal which is named) and indicates that it is a recent piece. It further states the quality of the data used as well as the limitations.

A good reflection provides details on how this particular source supports your research. It generally has two parts. The first part identifies which information will be the most useful and the second part identifies a specific research use for the material.

Some examples of research uses include:

  • Providing background information on a topic
  • Supporting or refuting an argument you are making
  • Demonstrating a point.

Here is an example of a good reflection:

This article provides extensive information on reduced mammal populations in areas that experience drought at an increasing frequency. This supports the argument that climate change has an effect on prairie dog population.

This reflection identifies a specific piece of information (reduced mammal populations in drought-affected areas) and connects it to a specific research use (supporting the argument regarding prairie dog populations.)