How to write an annotated bibliography
A beginner’s guide for new PhD students
How do you write an annotated bibliography? More importantly though, what exactly is an annotated bibliography?!
Keep reading, because I’m going to break all that down in this blogpost!
The annotated bibliography is something you might come across in the early days of your PhD when you’re getting to grips with the literature, and it can be really helpful for staying organised.
Searching for literature can be overwhelming and you end up collecting tens (or hundreds!) of PDF articles and chapters that you tuck away in your cloud storage. They just sit there silently judging you for not doing anything with them. Sound familiar?! Writing an annotated bibliography as you go can be a useful way of preventing this.
What is an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is a list of references you’ve used in your research - but with an important twist: each reference includes a short annotation, a few sentences or a paragraph, that describes, evaluates, and reflects on the source.
The idea is to show not just what the source is about, but why it’s relevant and how it connects to your research. Think of it as your way of keeping track of what you’ve read and making sure you’re pulling the best bits into your PhD work.
Why should you care about annotated bibliographies?
I know, you’ve got a million other things on your plate. But trust me, mastering the annotated bibliography will pay off in the long run.
First off, it helps you stay organised – no more drowning in a sea of journal articles or feeling the guilt over all those PDFs in your cloud storage!
Plus, it sharpens your critical thinking. You’ll be actively engaging with each source and asking, “Is this really going to help me with my research?” so you end up with sources that are relevant and exclude those “just in case” sources that you’re hoarding and feeling bad for not reading.
Different levels of annotations
Not all annotations are created equal, and depending on what your supervisor wants or the requirements for your project, you might be asked to write one or more of these types:
(1) Descriptive annotation
This is the basic level – you’re summarising the content of the source. What are the main arguments? What’s the research about? Pretty straightforward, but not very deep.
(2) Evaluative annotation
Here, you’re stepping it up. You’ll still summarise, but now you’re also evaluating the source’s credibility, usefulness, and relevance to your research. Does it align with your methodology? Is the research solid?
(3) Reflective annotation
This one’s my favourite, because it’s all about you. Well, you and your research. You’ll summarise and evaluate, but also reflect on how this source fits into your project. How does it influence your thinking? Will you use it in your dissertation?
Now that you know the different levels, let’s dive into them in a bit more detail.
Before we do – I’m not going to go through how to search the literature in this blogpost but I will just say this - you need to make sure you’re using the best keywords and key phrases, because what you put into search engines or databases determines the quality and relevance of what you get out. There are some keywords and key phrases that you might have missed and they can be crucial in unlocking areas of the literature you’re not currently aware of, so it super important to get keywords and key phrases right - I have a more in depth blogpost on that, which you can read here.
Summarising the Source
Once you’ve got a source in hand, your first task is to summarise it. What’s it about? What are the main arguments? What evidence does the author use? Keep it brief – this isn’t a full literature review!
Here’s a quick formula to get you started:
Author and Title: Who wrote it and what’s it called?
Main Argument/Thesis: What’s the main point the author is making?
Evidence Used: What kind of research or data backs up the author’s claims?
Conclusion: What does the author conclude?
Below is an example. You can see how this annotation starts with a full citation for the article, followed by a concise summary of the study’s focus, methods, and conclusions.
Example:
Smith, J. (2020). Understanding the Digital Divide in Education. Journal of Educational Technology, 45(2), 123-145.
Smith explores how socio-economic factors contribute to the digital divide in education, with a focus on access to technology in low-income areas. Using a mix of qualitative interviews and statistical analysis, the study highlights significant gaps in digital access and provides recommendations for policy improvements. Smith concludes that bridging this divide requires a multi-faceted approach involving both government and private sector initiatives.
Evaluating the Source
Next, you’ll need to evaluate the source. This is where you’ll get to flex your critical thinking muscles. You’re making a judgement about its value. Ask yourself:
• Is the research reliable? (Is it from a reputable journal or researcher?)
• Is the source relevant? (Does it directly relate to your research topic?)
• What are the strengths and weaknesses? (Is the argument well-supported, or are there gaps?)
Here’s an example of an evaluation. You can see how this goes beyond just summarising the article. It points out why the research is timely and relevant, but also highlights its limitations, like the focus on U.S. data. It even suggests areas for improvement, such as needing more recent data. This is a great way to show you’re engaging critically with the source, not just describing it.
Example Evaluation:
Smith’s research is both timely and relevant, particularly given the increasing reliance on digital tools in education. However, the study’s focus on low-income areas in the U.S. limits its applicability to other regions. The methodology is solid, though more recent data might provide a clearer picture of post-pandemic impacts on the digital divide.
Reflecting on the source’s relevance
This is where you’ll tie the source back to your own research. How does this article, book, or paper help you? Think about how it fits into your overall research question and whether you’ll use it in your dissertation.
• Does this source support or contradict your hypothesis?
• Will you cite it in your literature review?
• Does it offer new ideas or gaps you could explore further?
Below is an example of a reflection. You can see how this connects the source directly to the researcher’s own project. It highlights why the findings are relevant to their specific topic on digital inequality in higher education and acknowledges the parallels between the U.S. and UK contexts. This kind of reflection is key because it shows how the source fits into your own research and how you might use it in your dissertation or thesis.
Example Reflection:
Smith’s findings are highly relevant to my research on the effects of digital inequality in higher education. While my focus is on university-level students in the UK, the parallels between the socio-economic factors in both regions suggest that similar disparities exist. I’ll likely use Smith’s data in my chapter on digital access.
Formatting your annotated bibliography
Formatting is key – make sure you’re using the correct referencing style. Below is an example of an APA style reference followed by the annotation. So be sure to confirm what referencing style your university requires and stick with that!
Example Annotated Bibliography (APA Style):
Smith, J. (2020). Understanding the Digital Divide in Education. Journal of Educational Technology, 45(2), 123-145.
Smith explores how socio-economic factors contribute to the digital divide in education, focusing on low-income areas. Using qualitative interviews and statistical analysis, the study highlights gaps in digital access and provides recommendations for policy improvements. The research is timely but limited to the U.S., with a strong methodology that would benefit from more recent data. Smith’s findings will be useful for my research on digital inequality in higher education, particularly in drawing parallels between the U.S. and UK contexts.
Found this helpful?
If you found this blogpost helpful, take a look at my other blogposts on all things PhD! From getting organised to writing up, I’ve got you covered! Click here to browse through them all!
