Annotated Bibliography

What is an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is one way to present a review of the literature. It is a bibliography (list of
literature citations) in which each reference is annotated. In addition, the annotated bibliography has a
short introduction stating the purpose of the review, how the search was conducted, and an overview of the
categories you found in the literature, as well as a conclusions section stating your analysis of the literature
reviewed.
What is an annotation?
An annotation is a short description and analysis of a piece of literature. nli!e an article abstract, which
is written by the article"s author, an annotation is written by a reviewer for a specific purpose. #he
annotation includes descriptive infor$ation about the article (li!e an abstract) but also the reviewer"s
analysis of the article. What is its value and relevance in regard to your research purposes? Annotations are
usually %&' pages (double&spaced) long.
What are the steps in constructing the annotated bibliography?
%. (ased on your conceptual $ap of your topic, begin to search the literature. As you see what
descriptors are $ost useful for searching and what literature is there, you will develop a $ap of the
literature. Another way to say this is you will identify the $odules (patterns) in the literature
related to your $ain topic. (e selective in choosing pieces to include in the annotated bibliography.
)ou want to include the best and $ost current published research related to the topic, prioriti*ing
+ournal articles. (e sure to record full citation infor$ation, al, A-A, for each source you choose.
'. Annotate the selected sources. #he style and length of the annotations will depend on the
co$ple.ity of the individual pieces and how $uch you want to say. /eep in $ind that you are
developing the raw $aterial for your for$al literature review.
0. 1roup the annotations into categories based on the patterns or $odules you identified in the
literature. 1ive each category a sub&heading.
2. 3evelop conclusions about the topic based on the literature reviewed. In general, the conclusions
should state what you learned about the topic fro$ this literature. #he conclusions section will
usually (a) restate the purposes of the review4 (b) analy*e the infor$ation contained in the
annotations4 (c) assess the state of !nowledge about the topic as represented in the reviewed
literature. In other words, address such 5uestions as6 (a) What did I learn fro$ the literature, i.e.,
what is the literature saying? (b) What is $y criticis$ of the literature? (c) 3oes the literature
provide concrete guidance in regard to the proble$ I want to address in $y research? (d) What
research is needed related to the topic?
#he final annotated bibliography paper will include6
A title page
Introduction (purpose of review and how search was conducted4 overview of the
$odules or patterns you found in the literature)
Annotations (divided into sections according to the categories4 include full citation
with each annotation)
7onclusions
#he paper $ust be double&spaced and use correct A-A style.