Last revised: October 2009
Citing Sources Using the Chicago Style Manual:
Notes System
Scope: This guide is designed to help researchers learn how to cite sources using the Chicago Style notes system. This system is often used in history, the humanitites, and the arts. For more information, refer to The Chicago Manual of Style or Kate Turabian's Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Quick Links to Sample Citations:
Overview of the Chicago/Turabian Documentation System
The Chicago system (also known as the Turabian system) allows for two different systems of documentation. The notes system is suggested for use in the humanities, art, and history, and uses footnotes (notes at the bottom of the page) to document sources. The in-text parenthetical system (known as the author-date system) is suggested for use in the physical, natural, and social sciences and uses endnotes (notes at the end of the paper on a separate sheet) to document sources.
This guide outlines the notes system. For more information on using the author-date system, see Citing Sources Using the Chicago Style Manual: In-Text Parenthetical System (Author-Date).
Two Types of Notes Systems
In the notes system, the format and content of the notes depends upon whether or not you include a full bibliography (one that lists all the sources you cite) with your paper. If you do not include a full bibliography, your notes must include the complete citation information. The Chicago/Turabian style allows the writer to choose and gives rules for both options, but be sure to find out what your instructor requires.
- Notes and Full Bibliography. All notes can appear in the shortened form, even the first mention of a source, since a full bibliography will give the complete source information for every note you have in your paper. This is the recommended practice, which the Chicago Manual describes as "user-friendly and economical" because it minimizes repeated information. Imagine that you're writing a paper on the ideal politician and are quoting a particular author's ideas about desirable qualities in a politician. An excerpt from a sentence in the text of a paper written using the notes system with a full bibliography would look like this:
While some assert that the essential qualities a politician must posess are, "passion, a feeling of responsibility, and a sense of proportion"1, others think that ...
The note would look like this:1. Weber, "Politics as a Vocation", 33.
The corresponding entry in the bibliography would look like this:Weber, Max. "Politics as a Vocation." In Essays in Sociology, edited by H.H. Garth and C. Wright Mills, 26-45. New York: Macmillian, 1946. - Notes Only (No Bibliography or Selected Bibliography). In this case, the first mention of a source must be a full note (i.e., it must include all the necessary source citation information) since the reader can't refer to the bibliography for that information. The shortened form can then be used for subsequent references to the same source. Your first note for a source would look like this:
2. Max Weber, "Politics as a Vocation," in Essays in Sociology, ed. Howard Garth and Cynthia Mills (New York: Macmillian, 1946), 26-45.
Any subsequent note (not necessarily consecutive) referring to that same source would look like this:3. Weber, "Politics as a Vocation," 32.
Common Citation Examples
Each example below includes first the full note followed by the bibliography entry. Remember that after the first citation (or if you provide a full bibliography at the end of your paper) you can use the shortened form in your notes.
This guide shows the most common sources appearing in research bibliographies. For more specific needs, see the The Chicago Manual of Style.
Books
Book by a single author
In the note, the author's name will appear in the usual order; in the bibliography it will be given with the last name first.
1. John W. Bagby, Cyberlaw Handbook for E-Commerce (New York: Harcourt Brace, 2003), 37.
Bagby, John W. Cyberlaw Handbook for E-Commerce. New York: Harcourt
Brace, 2003.
Book with multiple authors
If the book has two or three authors, include all authors in the note and the bibliography. If the book has more than three authors, include all authors in the bibliography but only the first author followed by "and others" or "et al." in the note.
2. John Smith and others, The History of the World Wide Web, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004), 267.
Smith, John, Janice Brown, Chris W. Enkunde, and Lois Denmark. The History
of the World Wide Web. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
2004.
Book with editors
3. David L. Baumer, Julius Poindexter, and Janice Brown, eds., Cyberlaw and E-Commerce (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002), 46-47.
Baumer, David L., Julius Poindexter, and Janice Brown, eds. Cyberlaw
and E-Commerce. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002.
Chapter in an edited book
4. Chris Heller and Andrea Gottlieb, "Gender Roles in Ethiopian Culture," in Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective, ed. Sherry Collier, 45-56 (Louisville, KY: Pilgrim Press, 2001).
Heller, Chris, and Andrea Gottlieb. "Gender Roles in Ethiopian Culture." In
Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective, edited by Sherry Collier, 45-56.
Louisville, KY: Pilgrim Press, 2001.
Dictionary or encyclopedia entry
Well known reference works are usually cited only in the notes with the edition specified but the full publication information omitted. For an online reference book, give the URL and date of access.
5. Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. "Blog."
6. Dictionary.com, s.v. "Electronic Commerce," http://dictionary.reference.com (accessed March 3, 2004).
Periodicals
Journal article
Include the volume and issue number (if available). Give the range of page numbers on which the article appears in the bibliography and the specific page reference in the note (unless you are referring to the article as a whole).
1. Earl W. T. James, "Obesity in American School Children: An Epidemic," Journal of Nursing 389, no. 12 (2000): 400.
James, Earl W.T., and Lucy Danker. "Obesity in American School Children: An
Epidemic." Journal of Nursing 389, no. 12 (2000): 399-405.
Journal article retrieved online
Include a URL for articles retrieved online or through an academic database such as EBSCOhost. Include page numbers for the print version if they are given.
2. Caroline J. Stem and others, "How 'Eco' is Ecotourism? A Comparative Case Study of Ecotourism in Costa Rica," Journal of Sustainable Tourism 11, no. 4 (2003): 325, http://www.epnet.com/.
Stem, Caroline J., James P. Lassoie, David R. Lee, and David J. Dessler.
"How 'Eco' is Ecotourism? A Comparative Case Study of Ecotourism in
Costa Rica." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 11, no. 4 (2003):
322-348. http://www.epnet.com/.
You do not need to include the access date unless your instructor requires it or the information is very time-sensitive. If you do include the date, put it in parentheses at the end of the citation:
Stem, Caroline J., James P. Lassoie, David R. Lee, and David J. Dessler.
"How 'Eco' is Ecotourism? A Comparative Case Study of Ecotourism in
Costa Rica." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 11, no. 4
(2003): 322-348. http://www.epnet.com/ (accessed March 6, 2005).
Magazine article
Monthly magazines are usually cited by date only, even if volume and issue information is available.
3. Michael Elliott, "Gypsy Foklore Revisited," Smithsonian, March 2004, 24.
Elliott, Michael. "Gypsy Foklore Revisited." Smithsonian, March
2004, 23-29.
For a magazine article accessed online, include the URL for the article or database from which it was retrieved. Again, volume and issue information is typically not included. Include the date the material was accessed only if your instructor requires it or the information is very time-sensitive.
4. Monica Roman, "Son of NAFTA?" Business Week, December 12, 2003, http://www.epnet.com/.
Roman, Monica. "Son of Nafta?" Business Week, December 12, 2003.
http://www.epnet.com/.
Newspaper article
Chicago style recommends not including page numbers, as they may change between editions, though it may be helpful to include a section number or name and the particular edition consulted.
5. Edward Epstein, "It's That Time Again: Lawmakers Revisit Daylight Saving," San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 2005, final edition.
Edward Epstein, "It's That Time Again: Lawmakers Revisit Daylight Saving,"
San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 2005, final edition.
If you access the article online through the newspaper's website, include the URL. If the URL for the specific article stops working, use the newspaper's homepage instead (e.g., http://www.nytimes.com/):
6. Lewin, Tamar, "College Enrollment Set Record in 2008," New York Times, October 29, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/ education/30college.html.
Lewin, Tamar, "College Enrollment Set Record in 2008," New York Times,
October 29, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/education/
30college.html.
If you access the article through an academic database, include the home URL for that database service:
7. Daniel Howden, "Polio at Mecca Sparks Fear for Muslim Thousands," Independent (London), February 12, 2005, first edition, http://www.lexisnexis.com/.
Daniel Howden, "Polio at Mecca Sparks Fear for Muslim Thousands,"
Independent (London), February 12, 2005, first edition.
http://www.lexisnexis.com/.
Other Sources
Unpublished dissertation
1. Kerry J. Fitzpatrick, "Effects of Mowing on the Selection of Raptor
Foraging Habitat" (PhD diss., University of Maryland, 2003), 201-204.
Fitzpatrick, Kerry J. "Effects of Mowing on the Selection of Raptor Foraging
Habitat." PhD diss., University of Maryland, 2003.
Government document
This format may be used for reports, bulletins, circulars, and miscellaneous material issued by executive departments, bureaus, and agencies.
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Irrigation: A National Research
Plan, (Washington, DC: GPO, 2001), 34.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Irrigation: A National Research Plan.
Washington, DC: GPO, 2001.
If the government document is accessed online, include the URL and date it was accessed:
3. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Analysis of Crime Patterns 1990-2000 by Shirley Marimer (Washington, DC: GPO, 2002), http://www.usdoj.gov/346576/cr2002.pdf (accessed April 14, 2005).
U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Analysis of
Crime Patterns 1990-2000 by Shirley Marimer. Washington, DC: GPO, 2002.
http://www.usdoj.gov/346576/cr2002.pdf (accessed April 14, 2005).
Personal communication
Personal communication such as e-mails, telephone calls, or unpublished interviews are usually cited in the text or a note, but rarely appear in the bibliography. For example:
"In an e-mail message received by the author on December, 12, 2203, Sheila McCarthy stated that ..."
The corresponding note for this source would be:
4. Sheila McCarthy, e-mail message to the author, December 12, 2003.
An interview would be treated similarly:
5. Gary Williams (CEO, Sprint), in discussion with the author, February 2004.
Website
Include as much of the following information as you can: author, title of the specific article, title of the site, sponsor of the site, and URL. Chicago style only recommends including the access date if the material is especially time-sensitive (or if your instructor requires it). If no author's name is given, use the sponsor of the site in the author's position.
6. Danny Sullivan, "Boolean Searching," Search Engine Watch, http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/article/2155991.html.
Sullivan, Danny. "Boolean Searching." Search Engine Watch. http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/article/2155991.html.
Video
Videos are treated much like books, with the addition of the medium consulted (e.g., VHS, DVD).
7. Power! 1967-1968, VHS, directed by Louis Massiah and Terry Kay Rockefeller (Boston, MA: Public Broadcasting System Video, 1999).
Power! 1967-1968. VHS. Directed by Louis Massiah and Terry Kay
Rockefeller. Boston, MA: Public Broadcasting System Video, 1999.
For More Information
This guide is not a comprehensive list of all sources you may encounter. For more information and examples, refer to the Chicago Manual of Style:Gibaldi, Joseph. The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
The Manual of Style is available at the McKeldin Reference Desk (Z253 .U69 2003) as well as several other campus libraries (check the catalog for availability), and may be purchased through the University Book Store or commercial vendors.
Turabian style, developed by Kate Turabian, is essentially similar to the Chicago style with slight modifications for the needs of student writers:Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and
Dissertations. 7th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
It is also available through the University of Maryland Libraries (LB2369.T8 2007). Check the catalog for availability.
How to Construct a Short Note
Short notes are used in papers which include a full bibliography (to point the reader to the full entry in the bibliography) and in papers which don't include a full bibliography, or which include only a selected bibliography (to avoid duplication of information from a prior "full note" which lists all the citation information for a source). The short form of the note will generally include the author's last name, a shortened version of the title, and the relevant page numbers.
- Basic form. Give the author's last name, the title of the source, and page references.
1. Harvey, Notes on Ireland, 45.
2. Verne, Journey to the Center, 56.
3. Sweet and Krolowsi, Last Train to Rehoboth, 34-35.
4. Smith et al., "Analysis of Panel Study", 45.
5. Harvey, Notes on Ireland, 45.
6. Ibid., 46.
If the page number is also the same, only "Ibid." is required:
7. Verne, Journey to the Center, 56.
8. Ibid.
Why Cite?
In researched writing, proper citation increases your credibility and allows readers to locate your sources; conversely, a failure to document your sources is plagiarism, a violation of the University of Maryland's Code of Academic Integrity with serious consequences.
Avoid plagiarism by gathering the information you need to create a citation when you first find each of your sources; don't wait until you begin writing the paper.
