Research Writing
Researches focus on building on the already existing body of knowledge. This implies that the researcher will ultimately refer to other researcher’s work, and develop his/her case from what has already been done. This calls for writing a bibliography. A bibliography is a list of sources used for a certain research assignment, they could be books, journals, reports, speeches, articles, periodicals, encyclopedias, other research papers among others.
It is through the sources you present in the bibliography that an assignment to research writing is validated. Therefore, the choice of research sources, and consequently the bibliography you write must have a list of relevant, authoritative, and credible materials that will prove a case.
It is important to note the difference between a bibliography and an annotated bibliography. Prior to getting an assignment to research writing a supervisor may require students to write an annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography is a list of sources relevant to a particular research project, but the researcher/student must state the significance of the source to the research.
How do you write a bibliography?
Due to the difference in sources used in research writing, there is not a uniform way of writing a bibliography, however, the following must reflect in every source used.
- The name of the author
- Title of the source
- Date and year of publication