Annotated bibliographies tell the story of the critical thinking that goes on during the information seeking and selection phases of literature research. The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to document your review of literature on your topic and to illustrate the quality of research that you have done.
Spacing: Double space citations and annotations.
Order: Organize the annotations alphabetically.
Method: Annotations may consist of the following elements:
1. A properly formatted citation in APA style. Follow this citation with:
2. One to two well-constructed paragraphs using the C.A.S.E. method:
- Currency:
- Last 5 years preferred (unless it’s a historical source)
- If the article is older, why have you selected it? For example, is it a seminal work, that is, often referenced in other researchers' work?
- Authority:
- What type of information is this? (News article? Association or government report? Research report? Trade magazine article? etc.)
- Where is the information reported? (On a well-known, respected website with a .org, .gov, .edu domain? In a journal? In a book?)
- Is the source (association, organization, etc.) trustworthy?
- Is the author identified? What are his/her/their affiliations, credentials, or history in the field? Laundry lists are not necessary.
- Bias: Is the language or presentation biased or loaded? Do the authors present a balanced presentation of evidence or do they favor a particular perspective or interpretation?
- Suitability:
- Does this source meet your needs?
- Does it help answer your question or fill a gap in the information provided by other sources?
- Does it reinforce what you already have?
- Does it add a different perspective?
- Ease of Use:
- How well will this fit into your paper?
- Will you have to drastically re-think your topic or previous research to use this source?
