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Research Guides

Citing Sources: Chicago/Turabian

This guide offers resources to help you document the sources you're citing in your research papers and projects.

The Chicago/Turabian citation style is typically used by scholars in fields such as the Humanities, Economics and Business, Education, Fine Arts and Music, History, Politics, Social Sciences, and Theology.

The 17th edition (2017) of The Chicago Manual of Style, and the 9th edition (2018) of Turabian's Manual for Writers are the most current editions in use.

The Chicago/Turabian style offers two different methods for formulating citations: Notes/Bibliography and Author/Date.

  • The Notes/Bibliography or NB format is most often used for courses in literature, history and the arts. 
  • The Author/Date or AD format is most often used in the social sciences.

Both methods are detailed below, and examples for some of the most common reference materials are provided. Be sure to check with your course instructor, and pick one style to use consistently throughout your paper.

Notes-Bibliography Style - Format and Examples

Notes-Bibliography 

The Notes-Bibliography method employs superscript numbers within the text to direct the reader to a shortened reference (N) in a numbered footnote, Those footnotes then correspond to a full reference (B) in a bibliography at the end of the paper. 

First, you indicate that you are using a source (whether in direct quote or paraphrase) by placing a superscript number at the end of the sentence.

As Strang points out, the "settlers' first priority when they acquired new land was to bring it under technological control."¹

This number corresponds to a note (N) either in a footnote at the bottom of the page, or an endnote at the end of the paper.

FORMAT (N) ##. Author's Full Name, Title: And Subtitle (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of Publication), page number(s). 

(N) 1. Veronica Strang, Uncommon Ground: Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Values (New York: Berg, 1997), 50.

If you cite the same source again, you can shorten the note.

(N) 2. Strang, Uncommon Ground, 75.

Most often, you are then expected to include a bibliography (B) entry in alphabetical order in a Bibliography at the end of the paper. This entry takes a slightly different form from the Notes. *Be sure to use hanging indentation when formatting your Bibliography page.

FORMAT (B) Author's Last Name, First Name and Initials. Title: And Subtitle. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

(B) Strang, Veronica. Uncommon Ground: Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Values. New York: Berg, 1997.

 


Citation Breakdown (Notes-Bibliography):

Books

Basic Format:

(N) ##. Author's First and Last Name, Title of the Book: And Subtitle (Place of Publication: Publisher's Name, Date of Publication), page number.

(B) Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of the Book: And Subtitle. Place of Publication: Publisher's Name, Date of Publication.


Book - One Author or Editor

(N) 1. Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937; repr., New York: Harper and Row, 1990), 83.

(B) Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. 1937. Reprint, New York: Harper and Row, 1990.


Book - Two or Three Authors or Editors

(N) 2. Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, My Lady Jane (New York: HarperCollins, 2016), 95.

(B) Hand, Cynthia, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. My Lady Jane. New York: HarperCollins, 2016.

 

(N) 3. Enrique Laraña, Hank Johnston, and Joseph R. Gusfield, eds. New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994), 128.

(B) Laraña, Enrique, Hank Johnston, and Joseph R. Gusfield, eds. New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994.


Chapter in an Edited Book

(N) 3. Émile Durkheim, "Rules for the Explanation of Social Facts," in High Points in Anthropology, 2nd ed., eds. Paul Bohannan and Mark Glazer (New York: McGraw Hill, 1988), 235.

(B) Durkheim, Émile. "Rules for the Explanation of Social Facts." In High Points in Anthropology, 2nd ed., edited by Paul Bohannan and Mark Glazer, 234-253. New York: McGraw Hill, 1988.

 

Journal Article 

Basic Format

(N) 1. Author's First and Last Name, "Title of the Article: And Subtitle," Title of the Journal Volume number, issue no. (Month - if indicated - and year of publication): page of citation. Location of article online.

(B) Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article: And Subtitle." Title of the Journal Volume number, issue no. (Month - if indicated - and year of publication): page range of article. Location of article online.

Example:

(N) 1. Tricia Uy and Christian Dimaano, “Lessons Learned from ‘The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down’: Student Perspectives on How Cultural Differences Can Lead to Health Disparities,” Health Education Journal 79, no.1 (January 2008): 75. https://doi-org.geisel.idm.oclc.org/10.1525/maq.2003.17.2.159.

(B) Uy, Tricia, and Christian Dimaano. “Lessons Learned from ‘The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down’: Student Perspectives on How Cultural Differences Can Lead to Health Disparities.” Health Education Journal 79, no.1 (January 2008): 73–81. https://doi-org.geisel.idm.oclc.org/10.1525/maq.2003.17.2.159.


  • Pay close attention to punctuations. Notes tends to use commas, while Bibliographies use periods.
  • If you found the article in print, you don't need the URL/DOI. Though if there is a DOI/URL/Permalink, this can be useful to include so others can find your sources.
  • For more than one author, follow the pattern for author's names for books.
  • Check with your instructor whether they want you to make the URL/DOI active link or make it static.

Websites, Blogs and Social Media

Websites

Basic Format

  • Identify the "Title of the page", the author, title or description of the site, the owner of the site (if not already in the title), and the publication date, and the URL.
  • If the page is one that is frequently updated, include a time stamp if one is available. If you can't find a date, include and access date.
  • You can start the note with the author's name, or if there isn't a clear individual author, you can start with the title of the page.
  • Website content should only be cited in Notes - include it in the bibliography only if it is cited frequently and vital to your argument. 

(N) xx. Author's First and Last Name, "Title of the Page," Title or description of the site, Owner of the site, publication/time stamp/accessed date, URL.

Example

(N) 1. Becky Little, "Native Americans Weren't Guaranteed the Right to Vote in Every State Until 1962," History Stories, A&E Television Networks, updated August 20, 2019, https://www.history.com/news/native-american-voting-rights-citizenship.


Blogs

Basic Format

  • Blog posts can be cited much like articles in a newspaper or magazine.
  • Include (blog) at the end of the Blog title if it isn't clear that it is a blog.
  • Blog content should usually only be cited in Notes - include it in the bibliography only if it is cited frequently and vital to your argument. If you cite multiple entries from a blog, that would also be a reason to cite the whole blog in the bibliography.

(N) xx. Author's First and Last Name, "Title of the Blog Entry," Title of the Blog Site, date of publication/posting, URL.

Example

(N) 2. Kate Swenson, "Advice for the Special Needs Parent on Halloween," Finding Cooper's Voice: The Secret World of Autism (blog), November 4, 2020, https://www.findingcoopersvoice.com/2020/11/04/advice-for-the-special-needs-parent-on-halloween/.


Social Media

Basic Format

  • Like Web pages and blogs, in most instances Social Media can be cited in text, or within Notes. Only include an entry in the bibliography if it is cited frequently or critical to your discussion.
  • For the Author's Name, if the real name is know, use that along with the screen name. Otherwise you can use just the screen name. 
  • If you quoted the post within the text, you do not need to include any of it in the Note.

(N) xx. Author's First and Last Name or screen name (screen name), "Up to the First 160 Characters of the Post," Platform or Type of Post i,e. Facebook, Twitter, photo, video, date of the post including day, month, year, and time if it is necessary, URL. 

Examples

(N) 3. Geisel Library at Saint Anselm College, "Your third Research Trick-or-Treat of the week helps you find results that have a specific phrase!," Facebook, October 29, 2020, https://www.facebook.com/173252109443922/posts/2788507201251720/.

(N) 4. Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien), "Let's not be too judgmental, who among us hasn't said something stupid and embarrassing at 2am?," Twitter, November 4, 2020, 3:13 p.m.,  https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/status/1324082312695468033

 

Art Work

*Consult with your instructor if they require Notes, Bibliography entry, or both for works of art, photos, and graphics. Then choose from the formats below. The information that is included will depend on what information is available and what information is most relevant to your citation. 

Work of art seen in person

General Format:

(N) ##. Artist First and Last Name, Title of Work, date of creation, information about the medium and/or dimensions, location of the work.

(B) Artist Last Name, First Name. Title of the Work. Date of creation. Information about the medium, dimensions. Location of the work.

Example:

(N) 3. Fredrick Wilson, Good Shephard with Landscape,1909, stained-glass window, 40.5 x 28 in., New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.

(B) Wilson, Frederick. Good Shephard with Landscape. 1909. Stained-glass window, 40.5 x 28 in. New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.


Works of art reproduced in a printed source (treat as book chapter)

General Format:

(N) ##. Author's First and Last name, "Title of the Work," date of creation, medium and dimensions, (Institution where art is housed (if known), city where housed if not already named), in Title of the Source: And Subtitle, by Author of printed/online source (Place of Publication: Publisher, Date), location of art in source.

(B) Artist’s Last Name, First Name. "Title of art work," date of art work, medium and/or dimensions, (Institution where art work is housed (if known), city where housed if not already named). In Title of Source: And Subtitle, by Author of printed source. Place of publication: publisher, date. Page or plate/figure/slide number.

Example:

(N) 1. Mary Cassatt, "Mother and Child," c.1890, oil on canvas, (Wichita Art Museum), in American Painting: 1560-1913, by John Pearce (New York: McGraw, 1964), slide 22.

(B) Cassatt, Mary. "Mother and Child." c.1890. Oil on Canvas. (Wichita Art Museum). In American Painting: 1560-1913, by John Pearce. New York: McGraw, 1964. Slide 22.


Works of art reproduced in electronic source

General Format:
(N) ##. Artist’s First and Last Name, Title of art work, date of art work, medium, (Institution where art work is housed (if known), city where housed if not already named). URL/DOI.

Example:

(N) 2. Claude Monet, Meadow with Haystacks at Giverny, 1885, oil on canvas (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). http://www.artstor.org.

(B) Monet, Claude. Meadow with Haystacks at Giverny, 1885. Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. http://www.artstor.org.


Audio and Audiovisual Material

Song on a CD

Basic Format:

(N) xx. First Name and Last name of artist/composer/writer, "Title of Piece," other important contributors and their role, release or recorded date, track # on Title of Album, Producer, medium.

(B) Last Name, First of artist/composer/conductor. "Title of Piece." Other important contributors and their role. Release or Recorded date. Track # on Title of Album. Producer, medium. 

Example

(N) 5. Matchbox 20, "Girl Like That," written by Rob Thomas,1996, track 5 on Yourself or Someone Like You, Atlantic Recording Corporation, compact disc.

(B) Matchbox 20. "Girl Like That." Written by Rob Thomas. 1996. Track 5 on Yourself or Someone Like You. Atlantic Recording Corporation, compact disc. 


Song on a Streaming Service

Example

(N) 6. Adele, "Rumour Has It," track 2 on 21, Columbia Records, 2011, Amazon Music streaming.

(B) Adele. "Rumour Has It." Track 2 on 21. Columbia Records, 2011. Amazon Music streaming.


Films

Basic Format

(N) ##. Title of the Film, directed by First and Last Name, other information relevant to your information (Company that produced the movie, release or created date), medium.

(B) Last Name, First Name, director. Title of the Movie. Company that produced the film, created or released date. Other relevant information. Medium.

Example:

(N) 7. The Hunt For Red October, directed by John McTiernan, starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin (Paramount Pictures, 1990), DVD Disc.

(B) McTiernan, John, director. The Hunt For Red October. Paramount Pictures, 1990. 2 hr.,15 min. DVD Disc.

 

Author-Date Style - Format and Examples

The Author-Date method uses parenthetical citations (P) in a paper to indicate the last name of the author, date of publication, and page number(s) (if applicable) of the source being referenced by the writer. Then each of those citations correspond to a full reference (R) located at the end of the paper in a bibliography or Reference page. 

The parenthetical citation will be formatted as follows: (Author's Last Name year of publication, page ##).

(P) As Strang points out, the "settlers' first priority when they acquired new land was to bring it under technological control" (Strang, 1977, 50).

When formulating the reference, this particular citation would be constructed like this and listed in alphabetical order on the Reference page:

Author's Last Name, Author's First Name. date (year of publication). Title of Book or Article. Place of Publication: Publisher.

(R) Strang, Veronica. 1997. Uncommon Ground: Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Values. New York: Berg.

Overall Basic Pattern for References:

Author, date (year) of publication, title, other facts of publication, full range of pages. 


Citation Breakdown (Author-Date):

Books

Basic Format

(P) (Author's Last Name year of publication, page number)

(R) Author's Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication. Title of the Book: And Subtitle, Place of Publication: Publisher's Name. 


Book with One Author/Editor

(P) (Hurston 1990, 72)

(R) Hurston, Zora Neale.(1937) 1990. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippicott. Reprint, New York: Harper and Row.


Multiple Authors/Editors

(P) (Hand, Ashton, and Meadows 2016, 72)

(R) Hand, Cynthia, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows.2016. My Lady Jane. New York: HarperCollins.

 

(P) (Laraña, Johnston, and Gusfield, eds. 1994, 128-129)

(R) Laraña, Enrique, Hank Johnston, and Joseph R. Gusfield, eds. 1994. New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.


Chapter in an Edited Book

(P) (Durkheim 1988, 235)

(R) Durkheim, Émile. "Rules for the Explanation of Social Facts." In High Points in Anthropology, 2nd ed., edited by Paul Bohannan and Mark Glazer, 234-253. New York: McGraw Hill.

 

 

Journal Article 

Basic Format

(P) (Author's Last Name Year of Publication, xx)

(R) Author's Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication.  "Title of the Article: And Subtitle." Title of the Journal Volume number, Issue no. (Month and Date - if indicated): xx-xx. Location of article online.

Example:

(P) (Uy and Dimaano 2008, 75)

(R) Uy, Tricia, and Christian Dimaano. 2008. “Lessons Learned from ‘The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down’: Student Perspectives on How Cultural Differences Can Lead to Health Disparities.” Health Education Journal 79, no.1 (January): 73–81. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0017896919862592.


  • If you found the article in print, you don't need the URL/DOI. Though if there is a DOI/URL/Permalink, this can be useful to include so others can find your sources.
  • For more than one author, follow the pattern for author's names for books.
  • Check with your instructor whether they want you to make the URL/DOI active link or make it static.

Websites, Blogs and Social Media

Websites

Basic Format

  • Identify the author Last Name, First. Publication year (if known, otherwise n.d.). "Title of the page." Title or description of the site, the owner of the site (if not already in the title), more specific information on the date/time stamp, and the URL.
  • If the page is one that is frequently updated, include a time stamp if one is available. If you can't find a date, include and access date.
  • You can start the note with the author's name, or if there isn't a clear individual author, use the name of the owner or sponsor of the site, or the site's title.

(R) Author's Last Name, First. Year of publication. "Title of the Page." Title or description of the site, Owner of the site, publication/time stamp/accessed date. URL.

Example

(P) (Little 2019)

(R) Little, Becky. 2019. "Native Americans Weren't Guaranteed the Right to Vote in Every State Until 1962." History Stories, A&E Television Networks, updated August 20, 2019. https://www.history.com/news/native-american-voting-rights-citizenship.


Blogs

Basic Format

  • Blog posts can be cited much like articles in a newspaper or magazine.
  • Include (blog) at the end of the Blog title if it isn't clear that it is a blog.
  • If the blog is part of a larger publication (such as a journal or website), provide the name of the publication after the blog title.
  • For comments made on a blog, cite this in text  using parenthetical citation, and then include a citation for the blog in the Reference List (see second (P) example below).
  • Blog content should usually only be cited in text by way of parenthetical citations (P) - include it in the Reference List only if it is cited frequently and vital to your argument. If you cite multiple entries from a blog, that would also be a reason to cite the whole blog in the Reference List.

(R) Author's Last Name, First Name. Date of publication. "Title of the Blog Entry," Title of the Blog Site. Title of the Larger Publication (if there is one), date of publication/posting. URL.

Example

(P) (Swenson 2020)

(P) (Patterson [Georgia], November 4th, 2020, comment on Swenson 2020)

OR

(P) According to a comment on November 4th, 2020, by Patterson of Georgia (Swenson 2020)...

(R) Swenson, Kate. 2020. "Advice for the Special Needs Parent on Halloween," Finding Cooper's Voice: The Secret World of Autism (blog), November 4, 2020. https://www.findingcoopersvoice.com/2020/11/04/advice-for-the-special-needs-parent-on-halloween/.


Social Media

Basic Format

  • Like Web pages and blogs, in most instances Social Media can be cited in text, or within parenthetical citation (P). Only include an entry in the Reference List if it is cited frequently or critical to your discussion.
  • For the Author's Name, if the real name is known, use that along with the screen name. Otherwise you can use just the screen name. 
  • If the post is a photo, video, etc., be sure to include that detail (i.e. Instagram photo).

(R) Author's Last Name, First Name [screen name in brackets if real name is know] or screen name. Date of publication. "Up to the First 160 Characters of the Post." Platform or Type of Post (i,e. Facebook, Twitter, photo, video), date of the post including day, month, year, and time if it is necessary. URL. 

Examples

(P) Geisel Library seeks to help students with their study skills even on Facebook: "Your third Research Trick-or-Treat of the week helps you find results that have a specific phrase!" (Geisel Library at Saint Anselm College, October 29, 2020).

(P) (O'Brien 2020)

 

(R) Geisel Library at Saint Anselm College. "Your third Research Trick-or-Treat of the week helps you find results that have a specific phrase!" Facebook, October 29, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/173252109443922/posts/2788507201251720/.

(R) O'Brien, Conan [@ConanOBrien]. "Let's not be too judgmental, who among us hasn't said something stupid and embarrassing at 2am?" Twitter, November 4, 2020, 3:13 p.m.  https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/status/1324082312695468033

 

Art Work

*The information that is included in a citation or reference will depend on what information is available and what information is most relevant to your citation. 

Work of art seen in person

General Format:

(P) Artist First and Last Name, Title of Work, date of creation, information about the medium and/or dimensions, location of the work.

(R) Artist Last Name, First Name. Date of Creation. Title of the Work. Information about the medium, dimensions. Location of the work.

Example:

(P) Fredrick Wilson, Good Shephard with Landscape,1909, stained-glass window, 40.5 x 28 in., New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.

(R) Wilson, Frederick. 1909. Good Shephard with Landscape. Stained-glass window, 40.5 x 28 in. New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.


Works of art reproduced in a printed source

General Format:

(P) (Artist's First and Last Name, Title of the Work, Year of creation, in Last Name of Author(s) Year of Publication, xx)

(R) Author's Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication. Title of the Book/Article: Subtitle. Place of Publication: Publisher. 

Example:

(P) (Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child, ca.1890, in Pearce 1964, 122)

(R) Pearce, John. 1964. American Painting:1560-1913. New York: McGraw.


Works of art reproduced in electronic source

General Format:
(P) (Artist's Last Name Date of Creation)

(R) Artist’s Last Name, First Name. Date of Creation. Title of art work. Medium. Institution where art work is housed (if known), City where housed if not already named. URL/DOI.

Example:

(P) (Monet 1885)

(R) Monet, Claude. 1885. Meadow with Haystacks at Giverny. Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. http://www.artstor.org.


Audio and Audiovisual Material

Song on a CD

Basic Format:

(P) (Last Name of Performer or Composer year of creation or release).

(R) Last Name, First of artist/composer/conductor, description of who it is. Year of recording/release.  "Title of Piece." Other important contributors and their role. Track # on Title of Album. Producer, medium. 

Example

(P) (Matchbox 20 1996)

(R) Matchbox 20. "Girl Like That." 1996. Written by Rob Thomas. Track 5 on Yourself or Someone Like You. Atlantic Recording Corporation. CD. 


Song on a Streaming Service

Example

(P) (Adele 2011)

(R) Adele. 2011. "Rumour Has It." Track 2 on 21, Columbia Records. Amazon Music streaming.


Films

Basic Format

(P) (Last Name of Director Year of creation or release, other information about timing if relevant)

(R) Last Name, First Name, director. Year or creation or release. Title of the Movie. Other relevant information i.e. featuring/ starring. Company that produced the film, production date (if applicable). Medium. or URL.

Example:

(P) (McTiernan 1990)

(R) McTiernan, John, director. 1990. The Hunt For Red October. Starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. Paramount Pictures. 2 hr., 15 min. DVD Disc.

 

More Resources for Chicago/Turabian

The 17th edition (2017) of The Chicago Manual of Style, and the 9th edition (2018) of Turabian's Manual for Writers are the most current editions in use.