Skip to Main Content

INFO 4600/5600: Introduction to Information Access and Retrieval: Annotated Bibliography

What is it?

A bibliography is a list of references collected for researching a topic.  An annotation is a summary and evaluation of resource. 

The annotated bibliography is a list of reference entries each followed by an evaluative summary.

Important!

In APA the Annotated Bibliography is called an Annotated List of References!  If you try to look up "Annotated Bibliography" in the APA Manual, the index will direct you to a "Reference List".

Check apastyle.org

Things to Remember

When writing an annotated review of literature your annotations should include a summary, assessment, and reflection.

You should be able to look at the annotation and ask yourself:

  • What are the main arguments and topics covered in this resource?  What is the point of this resource?
  • How is this resource useful?  Is my critique or opinion of the article clear to the reader?
  • Does this resource fit in with other my other research sources?  Why is it necessary?

Sources for Help

Check Your Annotated Bibliography

To Do Clip Art

Image courtesy of Flickr.

APA encourages the use of editing techniques to help you proof your paper.  Some questions you should ask yourself before turning in your paper are:

1.  Do the resources work together to support the original topic?

2.  Are there any grammar or spelling problems?

3.  Was the content well described?

4.  Does the evaluation of encompass the depth of the content?

5.  Is it clear why resources were selected?

6.  Does the Annotated List of References adhere to APA formatting standards?

 

Additional Links

top