PUBH 3500 Public Health Program Planning and Evaluation

Annotated bibliographies are descriptive and evaluative lists of resources. They may include citations to books, journal/magazine articles, web sites, or other materials. Annotated bibliographies start with a citation which is followed by a brief paragraph that describes and also evaluated the information.

A typical annotation contains the following information in approximately 150 words:

• Author information: Who is the author? What is her/his educational/professional background? Are they qualified to write about this topic?
• Purpose: What is the purpose of this research? Is the purpose stated or implied?
• Audience information: To what audience is the author writing (scholars, teachers, the general public, etc.)? Is this reflected in the author's style of writing or presentation?
• Author bias: Does the author show any biases or make assumptions upon which the rationale of the article rests? If so, what are they?
• Methodological information: How did the researcher obtain the data?
• Conclusion: What conclusions does the author draw? Are these conclusions specifically stated or implied?
• Conclusion justification: Are the conclusions justified from the research or experience? Are the conclusions in sync with the original purpose of the research and supported by the data? Are the conclusions skewed by bias?
• Relationship to other works: How does this work compare with others cited? Does it conflict with conventional wisdom, established scholarship, government policy, etc.?
• Time frame: Is the work current? Is this important? How does the time in which it was written reflect on the information contained in this work

Language to Try!

Here are some helpful terms to use when summarizing language. Try to use a wide variety of vocabulary to summarize your resources.

source: University of Toronto