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Annotated Bibliography
Description	Students create an organized list of references (a bibliography) with critical or descriptive annotations.
Value	Students must discern quality information and evaluate resources based on authority, currency, accuracy, coverage and objectivity. Students are encouraged to explore beyond their research "comfort zone" and investigate a variety of types and formats of potential sources.
Goals	Students become familiar with a variety of research tools and types of information sources. Students learn to compare and contrast a variety of information sources on a given topic and determine their value. Students' annotations are clear, evaluative, and critical.
Guidelines	Annotations may consist of all of part of these components: content/focus of the item, author information, intended audience, source/research methods used, bias, findings/results, and special features. Clearly articulate your expectations for annotation content. Specify categories of resources to be included, such as: books, journal articles, media items, government documents, etc. Show students examples of appropriate annotations and discuss how an annotation differs from an abstract. Students should be introduced to relevant search tools for finding appropriate resources: online catalogs, subscription databases, etc.
Examples	Owl at Purdue University: Annotated Bibliography Cornell University Library: Annotated Bibliography ACRL Professional Education Committee: Annotated Bibliography
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