Farjana Sharmin Anika

Lecturer
Dept. Information Science and Library management
Khulna Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah University

Introduction:
Bibliographies are important tools for book selection in libraries. They can cover a subject,
geographical area, or works published within a specific period of time. Bibliographies are
arranged alphabetically or chronologically

Bibliographical Source:
A bibliographic source is a list of works used in the writing of a research paper, article, or book.
It can also be called a list of works cited. Bibliographies are usually found at the end of a book,
article, or research paper.

What are the different kinds of bibliographical Sources?

Different types of academic works call for different types of Sources.
Analytical
An analytical bibliography documents a work’s journey from manuscript to published book or
article. This type of bibliography includes the physical characteristics of each cited source, like
each work’s number of pages, type of binding used, and illustrations.
Elements:
a) Details about each source, including the author’s name, publication title, etc.
b) Analysis focusing on textual evidence, editorial decisions, etc.
c) Explanation of the purpose and goal of the bibliography.
d) Historical context on the source’s production, including printing technology etc.
e) Comparison with other editions or versions, highlighting textual variations etc.
Annotated
An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that includes annotations, which are short notes
explaining why the author chose each of the sources. Generally, a few sentences long, these notes
might summarize or reflect on the source.
An annotated bibliography is not the same as a literature review. While a literature review
discusses how you conducted your research and how your work fits into the overall body of
established research in your field, an annotated bibliography simply explains how each source
you used is relevant to your work.
Elements:
Details about each source, including the author’s name, title, etc.
Brief summary (2-4 sentences) of the main points and arguments of each source.
Assessment of quality, reliability, relevance, and credibility.
Explanation of why the source was chosen and who it is intended for.
Explanation of how the source relates to the research topic or question.

Enumerative
An enumerative bibliography is the most basic type of bibliography. It’s a list of sources used to
conduct research, often ordered according to specific characteristics, like alphabetically by
authors’ last names or grouped according to topic or language.
Specific types of enumerative bibliographies used for research works include:
National bibliography
Personal bibliography
Corporate bibliography
Subject bibliography
Elements:
A list of sources including details of the author’s name, title, etc.
Method of organizing the bibliographic entries, such as alphabetical by author, etc.
Description of the scope, including and specific criteria used to select or exclude sources.
May include annotations providing further information, such as evaluations or summaries.

How is a bibliography structured?

Although each style guide has its own formatting rules for bibliographies, all bibliographies
follow a similar structure. Key points to keep in mind when you’re structuring a bibliography
include:
•Every bibliography page has a header. Format this header according to the style guide you’re
using.
•Every bibliography has a title, such as “Works Cited,” “References,” or simply “Bibliography.”
•Bibliographies are lists. List your sources alphabetically according to their authors’ last names
or their titles.
•Bibliographies are double-spaced.
•Bibliographies should be in legible fonts, typically the same font as the papers they accompany.
Different kinds of assignments require different kinds of bibliographies.

How do you write a bibliography?

The term “bibliography” is a catch-all for any list of sources cited at the end of an academic
work. Certain style guides use different terminology to refer to bibliographies. For example,
MLA format refers to a paper’s bibliography as its Works Cited page. APA refers to it as the
References page. No matter which style guide you’re using, the process for writing a
bibliography is generally the same. The primary difference between the different style guides is
how the bibliography is formatted.
The first step in writing a bibliography is organizing all the relevant information about the
sources used in research. Relevant information about a source can vary according to the type of
media it is.
The next step is to format the sources according to the style guide. MLA, APA, and the Chicago
Manual of Style are three of the most commonly used style guides in academic writing.
MLA
In MLA format, the bibliography is known as the Works Cited page. MLA is typically used for
writing in the humanities, like English and History. Because of this, it includes guidelines for
citing sources like plays, videos, and works of visual art—sources you’d find yourself consulting
for these courses, but probably not in your science and business courses.
In MLA format, books are cited like this:
•Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication
Scholarly articles are cited in this format:
•Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical, Day Month Year, pages.
APA
In APA format—the format typically used in psychology, nursing, business, and the social
sciences—the bibliography page is titled References. This format includes citation instructions
for technical papers and data-heavy research, the types of sources you’re likely to consult for
academic writing in these fields.
In APA format, books are cited like this:
• Last name, First initial. (Year of publication). Title of work. Publisher Name.
Scholarly articles are cited in this format:
• Authors. (Year published). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue
number), article’s page range.
Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) permits authors to format bibliographies in two different
ways: the notes and bibliography system and the author-date system. The former is generally
used in the humanities, whereas the latter is usually used in the sciences and social sciences.
In CMoS, books are cited like this:
• Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.
Scholarly articles are cited in this format:
• Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Journal Title volume number 58, no. issue number
(year published): page numbers of the article (i.e., 10-15).

Conclusion:
We have established that bibliographic information is descriptive information about a piece of
work.