The Chicago Manual of Style presents two basic documentation systems:
Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars. If you are unsure what system you should use for your paper, please ask your professor, teaching assistant, or publisher which you should follow.
You must choose to use either the notes and bibliography system ([N] and [B]) or the author-date system ([T] and [R]). Do not mix the two systems. Again, ask your professor if you are unsure which is preferred.
The humanities style is preferred by many in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in notes and, often, a bibliography. It accommodates a variety of sources, including esoteric ones less appropriate to the author-date system.
The more concise author-date system has long been used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and date of publication. The short citations are amplified in a list of references, where full bibliographic information is provided.
Adapted from The Chicago Manual of Style Online, Sixteenth Edition. "Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide." http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html (accessed December 21, 2008).
Please visit the website listed above, or for complete guidelines, see Chapters 16 and 17 in the print version of The Chicago Manual of Style, Fifteenth Edition which can be requested for onsite use through the Library Catalog Search (BREF Z253 .U69 2003).
| Reference Type | Notes: Footnotes & Endnotes [N] | Bibliography [B] | Parenthetical Text [T] | Reference List [R] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book: 1 Author | 3. David Foster Wallace, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1998), 45. | Wallace, David Foster. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1998. | (Wallace 1998, 45) | Wallace, David Foster. 1998. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. |
| Book: 2 Authors | 12. Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (New York: Portfolio, 2006), 151-82. | Tapscott, Don, and Anthony D. Williams. Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. New York: Portfolio, 2006. | (Tapscott and Williams 2006, 151-82) | Tapscott, Don, and Anthony D. Williams. 2006. Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. New York: Portfolio. |
| Book: 4+ Authors | 19. Edward O. Laumann et al., The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 262. [NOTE: there is no period after the "et" in "et al."] | Laumann, Edward O., John H. Gagnon, Robert T. Michael, and Stuart Michaels. The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. | (Laumann et al. 1994, 262) | Laumann, Edward O., John H. Gagnon, Robert T. Michael, and Stuart Michaels. 1994. The social organization of sexuality: Sexual practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. |
| Book: Editor, Translator, or Compiler (instead of author) | 7. Bernard O'Donoghue, trans., Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (New York: Penguin, 2006), 36-7. | O'Donoghue, Bernard, trans. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. New York: Penguin, 2006. | (O'Donoghue 2006, 36-7) | O'Donoghue, Bernard, trans. 2006. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. New York: Penguin. |
| Book: Editor, Translator, or Compiler (in addition to author) | 23. Jorge Luis Borges, Collected Fictions, trans. Andrew Hurley (New York: Viking, 1998), 234. | Borges, Jorge Luis. Collected Fictions. Translated by Andrew Hurley. New York: Viking, 1998. | (Borges 1998, 234) | Borges, Jorge Luis. 1998. Collected Fictions. Trans. Andrew Hurley. New York: Viking. |
| Book: Chapter Contributor | 4. Noah Baumbach, "The Zagat History of My Last Relationship," in Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink, ed. David Remnick (New York: Random House, 2007), 409. | Baumbach, Noah. "The Zagat History of My Last Relationship." In Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink, edited by David Remnick, 409-411. New York: Random House, 2007. | (Baumbach 2007, 409) | Baumbach, Noah. 2007. The Zagat History of My Last Relationship. In Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink, ed. David Remnick, 409-411. New York: Random House. |
| Book: Preface, Foreword, Introduction, or Similar Part | 13. Adrienne Rich, introduction to The Work of a Common Woman: The Collected Poetry of Judy Grahn, 1964-1977, by Judy Grahn (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980), xx-xxi. | Rich, Adrienne. Introduction to The Work of a Common Woman: The Collected Poetry of Judy Grahn, 1964-1977, by Judy Grahn, v-xxxii. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. | (Rich 1980, xx-xxi) | Rich, Adrienne. 1980. Introduction to The Work of a Common Woman: The Collected Poetry of Judy Grahn, 1964-1977, by Judy Grahn, v-xxxii. New York: St. Martin's Press. |
| Journal Article | 9. Benjamin A. Shaw and Linda S. Spokane, "Examining the Association Between Education Level and Physical Activity Changes During Early Old Age," Journal of Aging and Health 20, no. 7 (2008): 770. | Shaw, Benjamin A., and Linda S. Spokane. "Examining the Association Between Education Level and Physical Activity Changes During Early Old Age." Journal of Aging and Health 20, no. 7 (2008): 767-787. | (Shaw and Spokane 2008, 770) | Shaw, Benjamin A., and Linda S. Spokane. 2008. Examining the Association Between Education Level and Physical Activity Changes During Early Old Age. Journal of Aging and Health 20 (7): 767-787. |
| Popular Magazine Article | 11. Jeremy Miller, "The Tyranny of the Test: One Year as a Kaplan Coach in the Public Schools," Harper's Magazine, September 2008, 39. | Miller, Jeremy. "The Tyranny of the Test: One Year as a Kaplan Coach in the Public Schools." Harper's Magazine. September 2008. | (Miller 2008, 39) | Miller, Jeremy. 2008. The Tyranny of the Test: One Year as a Kaplan Coach in the Public Schools. Harper's Magazine. September. |
| Newspaper Article | 16. William S. Niederkorn, “A Scholar Recants on His ‘Shakespeare’ Discovery,” New York Times, June 20, 2002, Arts section, Midwest edition. | Niederkorn, William S. “A Scholar Recants on His ‘Shakespeare’ Discovery.” New York Times, June 20, 2002, Arts section, Midwest edition. | (Niederkorn 2002) | Niederkorn, William S. 2002. A scholar recants on his “Shakespeare” discovery. New York Times, June 20, Arts section, Midwest edition. |
| Book Review | 22. Bill McKibben, "Green Fantasia," review of Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- And How It Can Renew America, by Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Review of Books 55, no. 17 (November 6, 2008): 38. | McKibben, Bill. "Green Fantasia." Review of Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- And How It Can Renew America, by Thomas L. Friedman. The New York Review of Books 55, no. 17 (November 6, 2008): 36-39. | (McKibben 2008) | McKibben, Bill. 2008. Review of Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- And How It Can Renew America, by Thomas L. Friedman. The New York Review of Books 55 (17), November 6. |
| Thesis or Dissertation | 28. M. Amundin, “Click Repetition Rate Patterns in Communicative Sounds from the Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena phocoena” (PhD diss., Stockholm University, 1991), 22–29, 35. | Amundin, M. “Click Repetition Rate Patterns in Communicative Sounds from the Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena phocoena.” PhD diss., Stockholm University, 1991. | (Amundin 1991, 22–29, 35) | Amundin, M. 1991. Click repetition rate patterns in communicative sounds from the harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena. PhD diss., Stockholm University. |
| Conference or Meeting Paper | 3. Brian Doyle, “Howling Like Dogs: Metaphorical Language in Psalm 59” (paper presented at the annual international meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature, Berlin, Germany, June 19–22, 2002). | Doyle, Brian. “Howling Like Dogs: Metaphorical Language in Psalm 59.” Paper presented at the annual international meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature, Berlin, Germany, June 19–22, 2002. | (Doyle 2002) | Doyle, Brian. 2002. Howling like dogs: Metaphorical language in Psalm 59. Paper presented at the annual international meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature, June 19–22, in Berlin, Germany. |
| Musical Scores | See The Chicago Manual of Style, Fifteenth Edition (2003), 17.263-4. | Ibid. | Ibid. | Ibid. |
| Audiovisual Materials | See The Chicago Manual of Style, Fifteenth Edition (2003), 17.265-73. | Ibid. | Ibid. | Ibid. |
| Reference Type | General Pattern | Notes: Footnotes & Endnotes [N] | Bibliographic Text [B] | Parenthetical Text [T] | Reference List [R] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Book | Follow the pattern for a book. Add the URL at the end of the citation. | 6. Blackburn, William R. The Sustainability Handbook: The Complete Management Guide to Achieving Social, Economic and Environmental Responsibility.(London: Earthscan, 2007), 67. Available online at http://www.ebookcentral.com. | Blackburn, William R. The Sustainability Handbook: The Complete Management Guide to Achieving Social, Economic and Environmental Responsibility. London: Earthscan, 2007. Available online at http://www.ebookcentral.com. | (Blackburn 2007, 67) | Blackburn, William R. The Sustainability Handbook: The Complete Management Guide to Achieving Social, Economic and Environmental Responsibility. London: Earthscan, 2007. Available online at http://www.ebookcentral.com. |
| Online Journal Article | Follow the pattern for a journal article and include the URL. Including the "access" date is optional. |
19. Saper, Craig. "Toward A Visceral Scholarship Online: Folkvine.org and Hypermedia Ethnography. Journal of e-Media Studies, 1, issue 1 (2008). http://journals.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Journals.woa |
Saper, Craig. "Toward A Visceral Scholarship Online: Folkvine.org and Hypermedia Ethnography. Journal of e-Media Studies, 1, issue 1 (2008). http://journals.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Journals.woa /2/xmlpage/4/article/285. |
(Saper 2008) | Saper, Craig. "Toward A Visceral Scholarship Online: Folkvine.org and Hypermedia Ethnography. Journal of e-Media Studies, 1, issue 1 (2008). http://journals.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Journals.woa /2/xmlpage/4/article/285. |
| Item in Online Database | Item in Online Database Follow the pattern for a journal/newspaper article and include the URL. Including the "access" date is optional. | 18. Katz, James E. and Chih-Hui Lai." News Blogging in Cross-Cultural Contexts: A Report on the Struggle for Voice." Knowledge, Technology, and Policy, 22, no. 2 (June 2009): 95-107. http://www.springerlink.com. | Katz, James E. and Chih-Hui Lai." News Blogging in Cross-Cultural Contexts: A Report on the Struggle for Voice." Knowledge, Technology, and Policy, 22, no. 2 (June 2009): 95-107. http://www.springerlink.com. | (Katz and Lai 2009, 98) | Katz, James E. and Chih-Hui Lai." News Blogging in Cross-Cultural Contexts: A Report on the Struggle for Voice." Knowledge, Technology, and Policy, 22, no. 2 (June 2009): 95-107. http://www.springerlink.com. |
| Web Site | Include as much of the following as can be determined: author of the content, title of the page, title or owner of the site, URL, and (often) date accessed. If there is no author per se, the owner of the site may stand in for the author. | 21. The New York Public Library, "History," accessed December 22, 2008, http://www.nypl.org/ pr/history.cfm. |
The New York Public Library. "History." accessed December 22. 2008. http://www.nypl.org/ pr/history.cfm. |
(The New York Public Library) |
The New York Public Library. "History." Accessed December 22. http://www.nypl.org/ |
| Blog Entry or Comment | There is not a defined style for blog entries; instead, choose the pattern that fits your source best and add the URL and optional access date. | 17. Tankboy. "Rockin' Our Turntable: Sonic Youth." Chicagoist. (June 23, 2009). http://chicagoist.com/ 2009/06/23/rockin_our _turntable_sonic_youth.php |
Tankboy. "Rockin' Our Turntable: Sonic Youth." Chicagoist. (June 23, 2009). http://chicagoist.com/ 2009/06/23/rockin_our _turntable_sonic_youth.php. |
(Tankboy 2009) | Tankboy. "Rockin' Our Turntable: Sonic Youth." Chicagoist. (June 23, 2009). http://chicagoist.com/ 2009/06/23/rockin_our _turntable_sonic_youth.php. |
| Email Message | There is not a defined style for email messages; treat them either as private communications or letters and follow those patterns. | 25. Amanda Holbrooke, email to James McAninch, September 3, 2008. | Amanda Holbrooke, email to James McAninch, September 3, 2008. |
(Holbrooke 2008) | Amanda Holbrooke, email to James McAninch, September 3, 2008. |