Subject Guides
Literature Review and Evidence Synthesis
Subject Librarians
What is an Annotated Bibliography?
Description:
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations such as books, articles, and documents (a bibliography) with a brief summary and/or evaluation (annotation) for each citation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Unlike other types of reviews, annotated bibliographies do not have established standards. Your bibliography will be guided primarily by its purpose and instructor guidelines (for class assignments).
What to cover in an annotation:
- Main focus, purpose, or claim of the work
- The usefulness of the citation to your research topic or goal
- The reliability, trustworthiness and quality of the source
- *Always refer to the requirements of the assignment
The Process:
- Creating an annotated bibliography involves a concise background explanation, succinct analysis and informed research.
- Search and collect relevant citations
- Examine and review the articles
- Choose works relevant to your research goal and topic
- These articles should include a variety of viewpoints, address disagreements and controversies around a research topic
- Cite the works using an appropriate citation style
- Write a brief annotation for each citation
