EMS Research Assignments

For this assignment, you are required to submit an Annotated Bibliography in which you:

• Identify each source you have reviewed from ESEC 3210, 3220, 3230, 3240 & 3250 relevant to a Prehospital Care issue that was of interest (that is why you pulled it) and you may want to use in the future.
• Annotate each source with a summary of at least 150 words.  This requires a choice of wording that is rich, dense and absent of fluff. 
  • Each annotation should state the central thesis of the source being cited.
  • Each annotation should explain how the source’s author(s) support their thesis.
  • Each annotation should evaluate the relevance or applicability of the source to your research interest.
• Produce an Annotated Bibliography document according to current APA format. 
  • Ensure that you have a properly formatted Title Page with your name, the course name, the instructor’s name, and the date of your document.
  • Ensure that your citations are properly formatted with a hanging indent and alphabetized.
  • Ensure that your full annotation of each source is included beneath the source’s citation.

Example of Annotated BibliographyTemplate.docx

Peer Review Assignment

After reading your classmates annotated bibliography, use the 3-2-1 method for feedback. (read the questions below, these questions are modified for this assignment)

1. List 3 things you found interesting or had not previously known from your classmate’s submission,
2. State 2 things that were not clear or where more detail could have been provided,
3. What is 1 thing you liked the most from the journal article summaries that you wish to research further?

An annotated bibliography (sometimes called structured research notes) is a way of organizing and describing sources on a single topic or that contribute toward answering a specific research question. In a nutshell, an annotated bibliography is a list of citations and summaries—usually just one paragraph long—for each source. The annotation summary gives an overview of the source's content and argument, an evaluation of the source's validity, and some details about how the source will help you answer your research question. 

Your professor will often give you a target number of sources that you need to include in your annotated bibliography. They will also often give directions about the kinds of sources your should use (for example, peer-reviewed articles, books, websites, etc.). Beyond this, you'll want to make sure the sources you choose have enough information to help you answer your research question. If you're not sure what sources to include in your annotated bibliography, here are some questions to think about:

• Do you need historical or background information? 
• Do you need statistical information?
• Do your sources represent multiple points of view? 
• Do you have sources for a counter-argument? (Where applicable.) 
• If you need current sources, are your sources up-to-date? 

Writing an annotated bibliography may be a step you take in the process of completing a larger research paper or project, or it might be the final project itself. Annotated bibliographies and structured research notes are helpful for aggregating research so that another person can learn about your topic and find relevant sources.

The annotation describes the type of source, summarizes its content, and may also evaluate its quality or usefulness for a certain project, usually in three to four sentences. This portion of the guide is meant to give you some general guidelines.

In most cases, annotations should be one paragraph long. Good annotations usually include:

• A summary of the source's main ideas and point.
  • What are the important facts of the source?
  • Why is the research valuable? 
• An evaluation of the source.
  • How does this source help you answer your unique research question?
  • Why do you find the source to be credible?

You may also want to include details about any connections to other sources or overarching themes. The annotation should form one complete paragraph. Annotations should be written mostly in your own words—you should only use direct quotes when absolutely necessary.

APA is the citation style commonly used for research in the social and behavioral sciences, business, education, and the sciences. The following resources will help you learn how to format APA citations.

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