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Chicago Manual of Style: Author/Date

The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers, 15th edition, is available in the reference area of the library (PN147.C55 2003) and may be checked out through our catalog. This handout is intended as a very brief introduction to style rules; consult the Manual for detail.

Two systems of documentation are offered: notes and bibliography (used primarily in literature, history, and the arts), and author-date (used primarily in the physical, natural, and social sciences). Examples of the different systems are available below, and details about citing electronic sources are provided.

This handout addresses the author-date system - For additional help and examples, consult The Chicago Manual of Style Q & A.


The Author-Date System (for details and examples, see pp. 616+ and chapter 17)

  • Sources are cited in the text, in parentheses, by the author's last name, the publication date of the work cited, and a page number if necessary
  • Full details appear in the "References" or "Works Cited" section
  • Personal communications may be cited in-text, but are rarely listed in the References

Examples (in-text citation, followed by listing in References)

Book with one author

(Doniger 1999)

Doniger, Wendy. 1999. Splitting the difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Book with two authors

(Cowlishaw and Dunbar 2000)

Cowlishaw, Guy, and Robin Dunbar. 2000. Primate conservation biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Book with more than three authors

(Laumann et al. 1994)

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.

Editor, translator, or compiler

(Lattimore 1951)

Lattimore, Richmond, trans. 1951. The Iliad of Homer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Chapter or other part of a book

(Twaddell 1957, 85-87)

Twaddell, W. Freeman. 1957. A note on Old High German umlaut. In Readings in linguistics I: The development of descriptive linguistics in America, 1925-1956. 4th ed. Edited by Martin Joos. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Secondary source ("quoted in...")

(Zukofsky 1931)

Zukofsky, L. 1931. Sincerity and objectification. Poetry 37 (February 1931): 269. Quoted in B. Costello, Marianne Moore: Imaginary possessions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

Organization as author

(British Standards Institute 1985)

British Standards Institute. 1985. Specifications for abbreviations of title words and titles of publications. Linford Woods, Milton Keynes, UK: British Standards Institute.

Journal article

(Smith 1998, 639-40)

Smith, John Maynard. 1998. The origin of altruism. Nature 393:639-40.

Magazine article

(Gourmet 2000)

Gourmet. 2000. Kitchen Notebook. May.


Citing Electronic Sources
For additional help and examples, consult The Chicago Manual of Style Q & A or Sources.

  • Permanence
    Electronic sources may change, or disappear. Accuracy should be verified as close to publication as possible.
  • Authority
    Consider the author when assessing electronic content. Content cited without formal ties to a publisher or sponsoring body is equivalent to unpublished or self-published material. However, anything posted on the Internet is "published" in terms of copyright, and must be accorded a complete citation and copyright permission, if relevant.
  • Publications Available in Both Print and Electronic Forms
    Authors must cite the specific format used, so the reader can tell whether a print or online source was consulted.
  • Access Dates
    Chicago does not normally recommend including them in the citation; however, for sources likely to have substantive updates, or time-sensitive material, the date of the author's last visit to the site may be helpful. Access dates may be required in your discipline.
  • Page Numbers
    When accurate page numbers are available, cite the page range in the bibliography or reference list. If individual page numbers are not available, add a descriptive locator to the note or in-text citation.
  • Personal Communications
    References to telephone, in-person, by letter or e-mail, conversations are usually incorporated into the text, or given in a note. They are rarely listed in the bibliography or reference list.

NEW directly from the Manual Q & A: "Notwithstanding the advice at 17.357, it can generally be considered unnecessary to cite the name or URL of a third-party database that provides access, typically through library Web sites, to published material. Instead, cite the original publication information of the article." (i.e., do not include the URL for Ebscohost or any particular database; it is helpful, however, to note the database name).


Examples (in-text citation, followed by listing in References)

Public documents

(Illinois Constitution)

Illinois Constitution, art. 2, sec. 2. http://www.legis.state.il.us/commission/lrb/conmain.htm.

Online journals

(Warr and Ellison 2000, under "The Consequences of Fear")

Warr, M., and C.G. Ellison. 2000. "Rethinking Social Reactions to Crime: Personal and Altruistic Fear in Family Households." American Journal of Sociology 106, no. 3 (November): 551-78. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJS/journal/issues/v106n3/05125/05125.html.

(Hlatky et al. 2002)

Hlatky, Mark A., Derek Boothroyd, Eric Vittinghoff, Penny Sharp, and Mary A. Whooley. 2002. "Quality-of-Life and Depressive Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women after Receiving Hormone Therapy: Results from the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS) trial." Journal of the American Medical Association 287, no. 5 (February 6), http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n5/rfull/joc10108.html#aainfo (accessed January 7, 2002).

Organization web site

(Federation of American Scientists)

Federation of American Scientists. Resolution comparison: Reading license plates and headlines. http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/resolve5.htm.

News and journal databases

(Thomas 1956)

Thomas, Trevor M. 1956. "Wales: Land of Mines and Quarries." Geographical Review 46, no.1:59-81. http://www.jstor.org/.

 

 

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