CRJ 101 - Annotated Bibliography and Research Intro

Evaluating Your Sources

Look for the following information about your source. You may not always find everything, but these are key points to consider.  If you cannot find this information about your source, then it may not be a good source to use.

Author's Qualifications

Who is this author? What do you know about their credentials? Why are they a reliable source of information on this topic? Are they an expert in this subject? Do they have an advanced degree from a university? Do they have lots of experience in this subject?  To learn more about your author, Google their name.  You might find their LinkedIn page, resume, university profile or personal webpage. Ask a librarian if you need help researching an author.

Publisher or Sponsor

Examine the publisher of the book, periodicals or website. What do you know about them? Have you heard of them? Are they reputable? Well-known in this field? Biased on the topic? (Hint: you can ask a librarian or your instructor about the publisher's reputation if you're not sure.)

Bias

How biased is this source?  Look at the author and the publisher - are they associated with a company, organization, institution, agency, etc. that would make them biased on this topic? Are they only telling you one side of the argument? Are they giving objective facts or opinion? Where are they getting their information from (what are their sources)?  Are their sources biased?  (Hint: pretty much everything is biased, and it's possible you can still use a biased source as long as it isn't too biased, and you can take the bias into account when using the information in your paper.  Maybe look for other sources that present a different viewpoint to counteract the bias).

Sources

Where is the author of this article getting their information? Do they cite sources at the end? Or do they refer to sources they used throughout the text? Do their sources look reliable/official or biased or not authoritative? If the author cites no sources, are they relying on their own expertise or first-hand experience (refer back to author's qualifications)?

Date

Look at the date of the source.  How current is it? And how much does currency matter? Some subjects need to be more current than others (i.e. current events and technology go out of date very quickly, health information is only good for five years or so usually, but something historical would be useful much longer).

Audience

Who is the audience this source is geared to?  Is it children, students, the general public, experts in a field, scholars and academics?  Obviously, something geared for children is not appropriate for you to use, and something geared towards the general public may be okay depending on your purposes, but a scholarly source might be more detailed.

For more information about evaluating sources, see our research guide on for Evaluating Sources and check out the MLA Guide to Digital Literacy. Or Contact Us or Ask-A-Librarian.

Formatting Your Annotated Bibliography (APA)

The format of an annotated bibliography can vary, so if you're doing one for class, ask your instructor for specific guidelines.

1. APA Title Page: Include a standard APA title page with your annotated bibliography.
2. Standard APA Format: Double space the entire annotated bibliography, and use a standard 12 point font such as Times New Roman.  Use 1 inch margins.
3. Standard APA Heading: Include a page number in the top left corner of the page.
4. Title: Title your paper Annotated Bibliography and center it in the middle of the page.
5. Bibliography: List the APA citations for your sources and arrange them in alphabetical order.
6. Annotations: Under each citation, write a paragraph about each source that includes:
   • Several sentences summarizing what the source said (yes, you should actually read the source to do this). (Hint: Ask yourself what the main point of this source was and what conclusions the author came to).
   • Then several sentences evaluating the credibility of the source (see Evaluating Your Sources).
   • Finally, a sentence of two about how you are going to use this source to support your thesis when you write your research paper. (Hint: Ask yourself how this work is useful or relevant to your topic? What did you take away from the source that you could use in your argument?)

Sample Annotated Bibliography (APA)

This is a sample Annotated Bibliography that includes a summary, evaluation, and use of a source. Annotated Bibliography format can vary; be sure to ask your instructor for specific guidelines.