This annotated bibliography comprises papers and books relating to informed consent in social research particularly, but not exclusively, in relation to research with groups commonly characterised as ‘vulnerable’ (children and young people, people with mental health problems or learning disability, older people and people receiving palliative care).  This bibliography is by no means exhaustive, but comprises papers published between 1998-2004 identified through searches on various electronic databases (BIDS, Ingenta Select, Web of Science, EBSCO, Science Direct). It also includes some books published prior to this where these are viewed as having made an important contribution to issues and debates around informed consent.  The bibliography is not exhaustive but does comprise what we have identified as some of the central papers or books on the topic.  Books and papers are grouped under the following headings: general ethics literature; general literature on informed consent; medical research ethics and consent; children and young people; mental health and learning disability; palliative care; older people; e-research; research in developing countries.