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Annotated Bibliographies and Finding  Sources

What is an annotated bibliography?

Annotated bibliographies. This is an interactive webcomic that walks students through the reasons why their instructor would assign an AB and explains several types of ABs that a student might be asked to create. 


Annotated Bibliography how to. This LibGuide shows how to create an AB using Word.


Writing the annotation. Includes hints, activities notes and examples on writing good AB's.

The annotation may include one or more of the following components:

  • summary or description of the source
  • evaluation and analysis of the study
  • reflection on its usefulness to your research

Example annotations


Is my source credible?

MERLOT. provides access to curated online learning and support materials and content creation tools, led by an international community of educators, learners and researchers. It's searches not just MERLOT, but also other OER collections and the web (Google) but just for the better websites for educational research. (Mostly the .gov, .org and the .edu sites)

How to find good sources.

Library databases are the best place to find good sources for AB's.

Start withone of these mostly full text article databases.

Gale in Context: College offers interdisciplinary content that reinforces the development of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation. 

Opposing Viewpoints  Provides informed, differing views presents each side of an issue and helps students develop information literacy, critical thinking skills, and the confidence to draw their own valid conclusions. 

SIRS Issues Researcher. An editorially curated pro/con database 

Then try  these databases.

Academic Onefile. Type in a keyword for what you are looking for in the Subject search box and the database will help you determine subject words. Once you see a subject word for your topic click on it.  That will bring you to a page with some results for articles. A lot of times there will also be a link to "Subdivisions" and one for "Related Subjects".  Not all the articles in this database are full text, but on the right side of the side you can check boxes that will filter the results to only full text articles and one for only peer-reviewed articles. 

JSTOR This is another all full text database.  It includes journals, primary sources, and books. It is an archival only database, so it does not include the current issues of journals full text. .For finding topic ideas You can Browse by Subject area. It does include Featured Subjects.