The annotated bibliography is useful not only to the individual researcher who creates the bibliography, but also to later researchers who might follow the same or similar paths. Since each of the identified sources has been described for both content and value, the bibliography provides shortcuts to topics for further investigation. If a researcher determines in writing an annotation that the source being examined provides ground-breaking work in an area, he or she will likely want to return to the article described and pursue its line of investigation more closely. If the researcher writes an annotated bibliography to accompany another project or as a project in itself, he or she is providing other researchers with carefully described clues for further research. In short, the bibliography ultimately can save time for the creator and for the user of the bibliography.
