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Annotated Bibliography

Why are siblings similar or dissimilar?

David Ramsey

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

February 25, 2018

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Annotated Bibliography

Kluger, Jeffrey. Interview by Ira Flatow. Science At The Sibling Effect, National Public Radio,

16 Sept. 2011,​ ​www.npr.org/2011/09/16/140537846/science-looks-at-the-sibling-effect​. (​I

always un hyperlink the url, I think that is what Perdue owl said. You might want to double check

just in case!!)​Accessed 7 February 2018.

The awarding winning host and executive producer of “Science Friday”, Ira Flatow, is

back with another weekly broadcast on Public Radio International in which he interviews

Jeffrey Kluger. This is a transcript which aired on (​Since it is from NPR, I know that it is from

a popular news source, but you may want to start off the paragraph with saying something like

"from the popular news source NPR..." just so he can easily distinguish which source is which!)

NPR on September 16, 2011 between these two distinguished men. The main reason why

Jeffrey Kluger was being interviewed by Ira Flatow was to discuss Jeffrey’s new book

titled, ​The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us.

His book examines the highly dynamic world of sibling bonds and the intertwined factors

that work together that shape those relationships. (​could probably just say "The topic of

Jeffery's book was" just to condense)​The topic besides the promotion of Jeffrey’s book was

birth order and how much impact does birth order have on us. Birth order is the order in

which you were born in relationship to your siblings. During the interview, Jeffrey

touches on some of the factors that surround sibling bonds such as their effects on our

conflict resolution, step sibling bonds, and the impact of parenting styles.(​good use of

writers moves!!)​ In addition, Ira Flatow and Jeffrey Kluger were answering

questions(​maybe say "were answering questions via phone calls from the viewers")​ via the

phone from the viewers. For example, Michelle, a female caller, expressed how she was
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different from some of the characteristics that Jeffrey Kluger used to describe the older

sibling and (​what do you mean she asked why? Maybe elaborate on this a little bit (:)​asked

why. Overall, this was a good and notable source. Along with NPRs well known respect,

the host, (​Nice, good way to establish credibility by listing the interviewers credentials!!!​)Ira

Flatow, is a distinguished science correspondent and TV journalist which adds value to

the credibility of this source. Furthermore, Jeffrey Kluger is a senior writer at Time

magazine and currently has written nine books. Also, his name has populated on a lot of

my searches and his evidence coincides with other research material I have gathered. The

benefits of tapping into a resource such as this is that it gave me great keywords to utilize,

thus continuing the journey to acquire new knowledge about this topic. Another benefit

was that it allowed me to see what the current discussions were and as a byproduct, new

questions to lead my research. In addition to all the benefits, this source will allow me to

refrain from only having to use one source to cite the same information when it comes

time to cite the sources and write my paper. Due to the ponderous information within this

transcript I will being utilizing it as a source.(​At the end I would add more about how this is

useful and fits into your research going forward. I can identify the summary and evaluation, but

am having trouble picking out how it fits with the research!)

Kluger, Jeffrey. ​The Sibling Effect: What The Bonds Among Brothers And Sisters Reveal About

Us. ​Penguin Group, 2011.

(​Is this your academic source?)​In this book titled, ​The Sibling Effect: What The Bonds

Among Brothers And Sisters Reveal About Us, ​written by Jeffrey Kluger, the author

examines the diverse and complex world of sibling bonds. The author not only uses

cutting edge research to build his book, but also uses his own experiences from his
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childhood periodically. This book opens with a short story from the authors childhood

with his three brothers in which they protect him from their father. The author uses this

story to jump start his web into the myriad of factors that contribute to how and possibly

why the sibling bond is as strong as it is. Some of the factors that the author discusses(​say

"are" instead of "is" here)​ is birth order, sibling rivalries, parental favoritism, and blended

families. Specifically, the author wants to draw attention to the importance of the sibling

bonds over parent bonds or at least the two bonds are equal in their influence on shaping

our lives. As I mentioned earlier,(​is this part of your evaluation?)​ Jeffrey Kluger is an

outstanding writer as he has written nine books. Currently, he is a​ ​senior writer at Time

magazine. In addition, the author survived growing up with three brothers and at one time

two step siblings, so he has experienced the diversity of having a blended family as well

as a traditional family. All these attributes culminate to a very qualified source of

information on the topic of sibling bonds as well as the many sources of research that he

utilized(​I like this phrase, nice!)​. As far as the golden goose of information on the topic of

sibling bonds, this book is that very source. This book has given me a plethora of key

terms that I will utilize in building my own research. For example, a dyad is a

relationship between two parts such as a mother and a child or the relationship between

siblings. Another term that was supplied within this text was de-identification which is

the process in which children pick personalities to offset a sibling. For example, if one

sibling is the fun one then the other sibling will be the serious one. Along with the

excellent terms and logical overview of the dynamics of sibling bonds, this book has

given me solid studies and bright individuals to view their research outcomes. (​nice, in this
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one I can easily identify all elements of the annotation!)​Overall, this book has helped my

research by narrowing in on the categories that may affect my own sibling bonds. Also,

the material that is covered by this author coincides with my other findings. Due to those

reasons I will use this source heavily in my own research.

Rodgers Joseph, Cleveland Harrington, Edwin Oord, and David Rowe. “Resolving the Debate

Over Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence.” ​American Psychological Association,

vol. 55, no. 6, 2000, pp. 599-612,

www.researchgate.net/publication/12427371_Resolving_the_debate_over_birth_order_fa

mily_size_and_intelligence​. Accessed 25 February 2018. (​nice, in this one I can easily

identify all elements of the annotation!)

(​I would say in first sentence "This webpage article" just so he knows that this is your website

element from an association, just to be safe.)​This research article titled, Resolving the

Debate Over Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence, is provided by the American

Psychological Association.(​good use of listing credentials to show that this is a credible

association)​ Created in 1892, the American Psychological Association began with only

thirty-one members and now, has over 115,700 members and 54 divisions in subfields of

psychology. Additionally, the American Psychological Association is the leading

scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. All

of their APA members are doctoral-level psychologists in a plethora of field settings for

example, academic research and hospitals to name a few. Furthermore, American

Psychological Association’s goals are to advance the creation, communication and

application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.

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Upon opening the American Psychological Association website, its’ members have

access to a wealth of information, but more importantly, a community. The homepage

tabs include publications and databases, psychological help center, news and events,

sciences, education, and careers, to name a few. These tabs are the means in which its’

members gain great resources and contacts. For example, the publications and databases

tab allow members and the public to access different types of research material such as

scholarly article reviews. Another example, the news and events tab which once clicked

reveals a hive of social and relevant news such as a recent press release and an upcoming

conference. Overall, this website is an excellent source for members and non-members

alike. The authors in this research article addresses the ineffective means in which studies

have been performed on correlating birth order and intelligence. Specifically, the authors

draw attention to earlier studies that were based off the assumption that bigger families

make low-IQ children. Additionally, the authors stress the differences in how an

investigator interprets the information that is yielded. The research article calls to the

difference between using cross-sectional data and with-in family data to support a causal

link between birth order and intelligence. Cross-sectional data is data that compares one

family to another whereas with-in family data thoroughly examines each aspect of each

family member regarding other families. The author’s highlight the results using the

cross-sectional data reflect that there is a causal link between birth order and intelligence.

Contrary to that result, the with-in family data suggest there is little if zero correlation

between birth order and intelligence. Regardless of the methods in which scientist utilize

to evaluate the dynamics of family, there is no argument that sibling bonds and parent
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bonds contribute to a degree the influence on us. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the

authors biographies besides what was listed as an author’s note displaying what

department they worked in. However, that does not delegitimize this work because their

work is displayed in the American Psychological Association database which means the

authors are probably members. Just to reiterate, (​Nice, I also wouldn't stress not being able to

find the author and their specific credentials because throughout the summary, you give many

examples that display credibility of the source. Nice job here.)​APA members are doctoral level

psychologists which means the APA members have a PhD, PsyD, or EdD in psychology

from a regionally accredited institution. This research article has been very beneficial

since it gives me some more tools to evaluate my own research. In addition, the authors

display a counter perspective to most of the research I have already completed regarding

the significance of birth order. Furthermore, this research article gives me additional

studies that offer me the other side of the discussion. Lastly, I will be using this research

article in my extended inquiry project as well as the American Psychological Association

database to unearth future research information.

Whiteman Shawn, McHale Susan, and Soli Anna. “Theoretical Perspectives on Sibling

Relationships.” J Fam Theory Rev, vol. 3, no. 2, 2011, pp. 124-139,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3127252/​. Accessed 7 February 2018.

In this​ ​scholarly journal titled, Theoretical Perspectives on Sibling Relationships, the

authors attempt to arouse interest in sibling dynamics research and as a leader for future

inquiries. Shawn Whiteman, Susan McHale, and Anna Soli are the authors for this

scholarly journal. The authors apply four theoretical psychologically oriented

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perspectives to the dynamics of siblings mainly through the childhood and adolescence

age frame due to the lack of research on the sibling bond as it ages.

Psychoanalytic-evolutionary, social psychological, social learning, and family-ecological

systems are the four perspectives the authors use. Psychoanalytic-evolutionary

perspectives focus on species-typical patterns of behavior due to attachment and the

survival function of social behavior. Social psychological perspectives look at how others

influence one another and their motivations. Social learning perspectives suggest a gained

behavior through observing others. Family-ecological systems view families as

independent elements that are always in flux with each other, extended families, and their

surroundings.(​I liked how you highlight the main components of this article.)​ In this scholarly

journal these four different perspectives are utilized as lens to examine a myriad of

environmental factors such as parent styles, gender differences, and birth order. Given the

fact that this is a scholarly journal, the information found within had to be peer reviewed

and verified for accuracy. In addition, I searched the authors of this scholarly journal and

was very pleased with the results. (​nice job establishing the credentials of the author.)​Shawn

Whiteman has a B.A. and M.A. degrees in Psychology and a PhD in Human

Development and Family Studies. Susan McHale is a distinguished Professor of Human

Development and Family Studies and Professor of Demography Director to name a few

of her titles. (​she may have assisted them in writing but I agree with the credentials of the other

authors I would also consider this credible)​Unfortunately, my research of the author, Soli

Anna, did not yield any results. However, with two out of the three authors having

multiple degrees and currently working in the field of my topic, I will still stand firm on
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the quality of this scholarly journal. Also, the information that I have found here goes

along with my other material that I have researched which also aids its’ validity. Along

with the plethora of key words and raw information this source provided, this source also

produced many links to studies to further my knowledge base in this complex area.

Overall, this scholarly journal has become an essential part of the perspectives that I will

utilize to analyze my own unique sibling bonds. Additionally, research without this

source would not have aided me in finding a logical and reasonable method in navigating

this multi-facet, yet, interesting topic. Given the great attributes this scholarly journal has

provided me with, I will utilize it heavily in my research.

Overall I am impressed with this piece. The use of thorough summaries really helped me get an
understanding of what these articles were about. The only comments or concerns that I had were
made in the comments above but just to briefly summarize some tips that I have, I will list them
now. I think that for the website page you used, if you are only summarizing the website or
organization ( im not sure which one you were analyzing), I would specify that in the sentence
before going into the summary. I was kind of confused reading that one. Also this is minor, but
there were a few grammatical errors that i commented on and you may want to double check
because i may be wrong! But just something to be aware of. In the two sources that i commented
on regarding the “usefulness” of the source, i would just elaborate a little more so you get full
credit for that part of the assignment! Great job overall, I think that you have done a great job
meeting all of the criteria for this assignment!