Doctor of Social Work (DSW) Research: The Annotated Bibliography

This guide provides links to resources available at USC Libraries for researchers working in the area of social work.

Annotated Bibliography

*An annotated bibliography is a type of paper in which the reference entry is followed by short descriptions of the work called annotations. APA Style guidelines are applicable to annotated bibliographies, but instructors may set requirements for annotated bibliographies (eg. how many references to include, length, and focus of annotation, etc). 

Refer to the APA writing and style guidelines, when writing the text of your annotations. Use 'in text' citations when you refer to multiple sources in an annotation. 

If your instructor has not set any specific requirements, your annotated bibliography in APA 7th edition format (Section 9.51, p 307) should:

  • be formatted in alphabetical order, the same as you would any reference list 
  • have an annotation below the reference entry that is 0.5 inches from the margin, the same as you would format a block quote
  • only have indented paragraphs if the annotation spans multiple paragraphs (indent the first line of the second and subsequent paragraphs as you would a block quote with multiple paragraphs)

*Content adapted from: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Annotated Bibliography Resources

APA Publications in the Library