How to Cite Your Sources in Chicago Style

Documentation Type: Author-Date System

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017) includes two documentation systems. System preference depends on the discipline. Ask your instructor for clarification if you are unsure which system to use. The system described in this guide, the author-date system, has entries for a reference list of cited works and author-date citations inserted in the text. (A guide to thte other system is also available.) For detailed information about The Chicago Manual of Style, see the complete manual shelved near the reference desk under the call number: Ref Desk Z253 .U69 2017.

In text citations include the author's last name, publication year, and page numbers; see examples labeled  In-Text

For the reference list, see examples labeled Reference:

• Use WORKS CITED or REFERENCES as the header for your reference list.
• Arrange in alphabetical order by last name, then in chronological order for entries by the same author.

Book

Reference:
Phelps, Renata, Kath Fisher, and Allan Ellis. 2007. Organizing and 
   Managing Your Research: A Practical Guide for Postgraduates. Los
   Angeles: SAGE. 

In-Text:
(Phelps, Fisher, and Ellis 2007, 143-144) 

A corporation can be listed as an author.

For four or more authors, follow this format, listing all authors in the reference list entry. For the in-text citation, however, list only the first named author and add et al., for example: 

(Hancock et al. 2009, 13-15)

Editor, translator, or compiler instead of author

Reference:
Cahan, David, ed. 2003. From Natural Philosophy to the Sciences: 
   Writing the History of Nineteenth-Century Science. Chicago: 
   University of Chicago Press.

In-Text:
(Cahan 2003, 267) 

For editors in addition to an author, see Chapter or other part of a book.

Chapter or other part of a book

Reference:
Constable, Catherine. 2009. “Reflections on the Surface: Remaking 
   the Postmodern with van Sant’s Psycho.” In Adaptation in 
   Contemporary Culture: Textual Infidelities, edited by Rachel 
   Carroll, 23-33. New York: Continuum. 

In-Text:
(Constable 2009, 27) 

Note: The page range for the chapter or part is listed in the reference (23-33). Also, editors, translators, and compilers, in addition to an author are listed after the title.

Journal Article

Article in a print journal

Reference:
Cain, Arthur James. 1956. “The Genus in Evolutionary Taxonomy.” Systematic 
   Zoology 5:97-109. 

In-Text:
(Cain 1956, 102) 

Include the issue number, for example: 5(3):97-109, only if the issue has separate pagination (begins with page 1) rather than continuous pagination (no interruption throughout the volume).

Article in an online journal (features stable URL, Uniform Resource Locator)

Reference:
Cain, Arthur James. 1956. “The Genus in Evolutionary Taxonomy.” Systematic 
   Zoology 5:97-109. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2411572. 

In-Text:
(Cain 1956, 102)

Article in an online journal (features DOI, Digital Object Identifier)

Reference:
Vos Post, Jonathan, and Kirk L. Kroeker. 2000. "Writing the Future: 
   Computers in Science Fiction." Computer 33(1):29-37. 
   https:/doi.org/10.1109/2.816266. 

In-Text:
(Vos Post 2000, 31)

Article in a Newspaper or Popular Magazine

Reference:
Darman, Jonathan. 2009. “Spitzer in Exile.” Newsweek, April 27, 2009. 

In-Text:
(Darman 2009, 23) 

Reference:
Santora, Marc. 2013. “New York School Bus Drivers Go on Strike.” New 
   York Times, January 16, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/ny
   region/new-york-school-bus-drivers-go-on-strike.html?hp 

In-Text:
(Santora 2013) 

Book Review

Reference:
Thierer, Adam. 2009. “Man, Machine, and Copyright.” Review of Digital
   Barbarism: A Writer’s Manifesto, by Mark Helprin. National Review,
   July 20, 2009. http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A203541879/BIC1?
   u=vol_b92b&xid=b332280c#.WdU8yxEJz18

In-line:
(Thierer 2009) 

Thesis or Dissertation

Reference:
Kay, James Michael. 2007. “Energy and Channel Efficient Control of 
   Wireless Sensor Network Clusters.” PhD diss., University of Vermont.

In-Text:
(Kay 2007, 5)

Website

Use of websites and their content must be documented as completely as possible, with these elements included, in the following order: author, year of publication, title of the page, title or owner of the site, last modified date, and URL. Access date is required if no date of publication or revision is listed, and in these cases n.d. should be listed for the date of publication. 

Reference:	
Office of Compliance Services, University of Vermont. n.d. “UVM’s
   Institutional Policies Website.” University of Vermont. Accessed 
   January 17, 2017.  http://www.uvm.edu/policies/

In-Text:	
(Office of Compliance Services, n.d.)

Reference:	
Google. 2016. “Privacy Policy.” Privacy & Terms. Last modified March 
   25, 2016. http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

In-Text:	
(Google 2016)

Blog/Social Media Entry

Blog/social media content can be cited in the text of your paper, e.g. "Philip Baruth's award winning political blog, Vermont Daily Briefing, cited on July 6, 2011..." A formal entry in the reference list is not required, but an example will follow.

Reference:
Baruth, Philip. 2011. “Santorum Berates Iowans, for Stupidity.” The 
   Vermont Daily Briefing, July 6, 2011. http://vermontdailybriefing
   .com/ 

In-Text:
(Baruth 2011)

Reference:
O'Brien, Conan (@ConanOBrien). 2015. "In honor of Earth Day, I'm
   recycling my tweets." Twitter, April 22, 2015, 11:10 a.m.
   https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/status/590940792967016448.

In-Text:
(O'Brien 2015) 

E-mail or Text

(personal communication; unpublished data)

E-mail or text messages can be cited in the text of your paper, for example: “In a June 2nd, 2011 e-mail message to his supporters, the former Vermont governor thanked …” A formal entry in the reference list is not required. In-text citations may use “pers. comm.” or personal communication to indicate this. 

In-Text:
(Howard Dean, pers. comm.) 

In-Text:
(Howard Dean, unpublished data)