The Chicago Citation Style Guide (17th ed.)-Author-Date is a referencing format developed in accordance with The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2017. This manual is intended for writers and practitioners as the guidelines for citing sources in the right format and technique. The author-date system is followed by scientists and social science scholars and writers, where each quoted material includes the author’s last name and the year the material being quoted was published exactly the same as the full bibliographies on the reference list at the last part of the document.
General Principles of Formatting
- The margins should be 1″ (2.54 cm) on all sides, which is similar to MLA, APA, and Havard format.
- Use Arial 12 pt. font (unless the instructions require a different font), double-spaced.
- Name reference list either “References” or “Works Cited.”
- Alphabetize the sources on the reference list by the author’s last names (or, if no author or editor is given, by the title or, failing that, a descriptive phrase).
- For successive entries by the same author(s), translator(s), editor(s), or compiler(s), a 3-em
dash replaces the name(s) after the first appearance. The entries are arranged chronologically by year of publication in ascending order, not alphabetized by title
Title Page
The title is placed in the center of the page and written in UPPERCASE. Use a colon to separate the main title from the subtitle. The subtitle should be written below the title line. The student’s name, tutor’s name, other class information, date, and year are located in the lower part of the page, written in sentence case. There should be no page numbers on the title page or page with the table of contents/outline.
Headings and Subheadings
Level 1: Centered, Bold, Each Word is Capitalized
Level 2: Centered, Non-Emphasized Font, Capitalized
Level 3: Flush Left, Bold, Capitalized
Level 4: Flush left, regular font, sentence case
Level 5: Placed at the beginning of the paragraph. It can be italicized or bold, sentence case. A period is used to separate the subheading and the rest of the text in the paragraph.
Reference List
The reference list is inserted at the end of your paper; any source that you use needs to be included in the reference page and cited in the text.
Indent all lines after the first line in the entry (hanging indent); the lines should be indented one[1] half an inch (1.27 cm) from the left margin of your paper.
- Remember to invert authors’ names: Last Name, First Name. For example, Clifton, Lucille.
- The reference list is always alphabetized by the first word in the reference entry (from A to Z).
- When alphabetizing titles or group names as authors, go by the first significant word (disregard a, an, the)
- All words except for articles and prepositions should be capitalized in the titles of your sources in the text and on a reference page.
- Italicization is applied to books and periodical journals’ titles.
- Double quotation marks are used for the titles of articles and book chapters.
References
The references list is centred and the heading for the page reads: References. If you have used but one (1) source, the heading is Reference. Maximum capitalization is used in the heading, i.e. capitalize the first word, the last word and all principal words including those that follow hyphens in compound terms. Every source you refer to on the reference page must be cited in the body of the text. Every source you cite in the body of the text must have a reference entry on the reference page.
Citing Books
General format
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication. Title of the Book. Publisher’s Location: Publisher’s Name.
One author
Clifton, Lucille. 1993. The Book of Light. Washington: Copper Canyon Press.
Two to ten authors
Lechner, Mildred, and Ralph Lechner. 1998. The World of Salt Shakers: Antique & Art Glass Value Guide. Paducah: Collector Books.
Budker, Dmitry, Derek F. Kimball, and David P. DeMille. 2004. Atomic Physics: An Exploration through Problems and Solutions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
More than ten authors
The names of the first ten authors are listed, and then “et al.” is added.
Mehrer, Mark, John Flatman, Natt Flemming, Jill Baxter, Caleb Orser, Keit Wescot, Din Dale, Derek F. Kimball, Ralph Lechner, David Morgan et al. 2015. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 6th ed. New York: Garland Science.
Corporate Author
World Health Organization. 2006. Comprehensive Cervical Cancer Control: A Guide to Essential Practice. Geneva: World Health Organization.
No author
Articles at the beginning of book titles are omitted to maintain alphabetical order. Mythology: Myths, Legends and Fantasies. 2003. Sydney: Hodder Headline Australia.
Multiple works by the same author
The works are arranged in chronological order. A 3-em dash and period replace the author’s name in every subsequent reference entry.
Fromm, Erich. 1942. The Fear of Freedom. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
—. 1987. The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
—. 1992. The Art of Being. New York: Continuum.
Multiple works published in the same year by the same author
The works are arranged in alphabetical order by title. The letters “a,” “b,” “c,” etc. follow the year of publication in each entry. These assist readers in distinguishing the sources cited parenthetically.
Brodsky, Joseph. 2011a. Less than One: Selected Essays. London: Penguin Press.
—. 2011b. On Grief And Reason: Essays. London: Penguin Press.
Edition other than the first
Alberts, Bruce. 2015. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 6th ed. New York: Garland Science.
Reprint edition
Austen, Jane. (1813) 2003. Pride and Prejudice. London: T. Egerton. Reprint, New York: Penguin Classics. Citations refer to the Penguin edition.
An edited book with no author
Monanty, Chandra Talpade, Ann Russo, and Lourdes Torres, eds. 1991. Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Multivolume works
Nichols, Bill, ed. 1985. Movies and Methods. Vol. 2 of An Anthology. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Tillich, Paul. 1951–63. Systematic Theology. 3 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
A translated book
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. 1992. The Idiot. Translated and edited by Alan Myers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Encyclopedia/dictionary
Swators, William H., Peter Kivisto, Barbara J. Denison, and James McClennon, eds. 1998. Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.
Chapter in an edited book
Balsamo, Anne. 1995. “Forms of Technological Embodiment.” In Cyberspace/Cyberbodies/Cyberpunk: Cultures of Technological Embodiment, edited by Mike Featherstone and Roger Burrows, 215–237. London: Sage Publications.
E-book
Austen, Jane. 2007. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Penguin Classics. Kindle.
Borel, Brooke. 2016. The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ProQuest ebrary.
Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel. 2001. The Hobbit or There and Back Again. New York: Harper Collins. https://www.readanybook.com/ebook/the-hobbit-17.
Citing Articles in Periodicals
General format
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication. “Title of the Article.” Full Title of the Journal volume number (issue number): page numbers.
Note: URL or DOI is added at the end of the entry for online sources.
Journal article in print
Seaton, Philip, and Takayoshi Yamamura. 2015. “Japanese Popular Culture and Contents Tourism
– Introduction.” Japan Forum 27 (1): 1–11.
Meyerovitch, Eva. 1959. “The Gnostic Manuscripts of Upper Egypt.” Diogenes, no. 25, 84–117.
Note:
- If there is no volume but only an issue, write “no.” before the issue.
Online journal article
Spielmann, Katherine, Matthew Peeples, Donna Glowacki, and Andrew Dugmore. 2016. “Early Warning Signals of Social Transformation: A Case Study from the US Southwest.” Plos ONE 11 (10): 1–18. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0163685.
Newspaper and magazine articles in print
Burchard, Hank. 1998. “Van Gogh: The Full Palette.” The Washington Post, October 2, 1998, 24–25.
New York Times. 2002. “In Texas, Ad Heats Up Race for Governor.” July 30, 2002.
Note:
- If there is no author, the magazine/newspaper title stands for the author.
Online newspaper and magazine articles
Bressan, David. 2017. “From Art to Myth, the Relationship of Our Ancestors with Volcanoes.” Forbes, January 19. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2017/01/19/from-art-to-myth-the-relationship-of-our-ancestors-with-volcanoes/#418763153b6b .
Meikle, James. 2015. “Nearly 75% of Men and 65% of Women in UK to Be Overweight by 2030—Study.” Guardian (UK edition), May 5, 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/05/obesity-crisis-projections-uk-2030-men-women .
Note:
- State edition of the magazine in parentheses after the magazine title.
Citing Conferences
Conference proceedings/presentations
Dally, David, and Paul Gross. 2003. “Modernization Concepts: Utilizing Bayer Countercurrent Packed
Bed Technology.” Paper presented at the 64th Annual International Water Conference,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 19-23.
Citing Dissertations and Theses
Thesis or dissertation
Hernandez, Ivonne. 2014. “Acculturation, Self-Efficacy and Breastfeeding Behavior in a Sample
of Hispanic Women.” PhD diss., University of South Carolina.
Rutz, Cynthia Lillian. 2013. “King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues.” PhD diss., University of
Chicago.
Note:
- If the thesis/dissertation contains a title of the book, write only the book name in Italics.
Citing Learning Environment
Lecture/presentation
Mahoney, Karen Murrey. “Overview of the Over-the-Counter Drug Monograph Process.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, June 10, 2016.
Citing Online Sources
Entire website: corporate author
WHO. 2017. World Health Organization (website). Accessed March 22, 2018.
http://www.who.int/en/.
Website (no date)
CivicPlus Content Management System. n.d. City of Ithaca, New York (website). Accessed April 6,
2018. http://www.cityofithaca.org/.
Page from a website
Frank, Anne. 2017. “Education.” AnneFrankHouse. Accessed April 3, 2018. http://www.annefrankhouse.org/en/Education/.
Page with an unknown author
Oath Inc. 2018. “Privacy Center.” Privacy & Terms. Last modified April 2018. Accessed December 7, 2018. https://policies.oath.com/us/en/oath/privacy/index.html.
Note:
- Use website name as author
Image
Jean, James. 2014. “MIZU”. Accessed January 24, 2018.
http://www.jamesjean.com/work2014/2quig9crt4wfqa7io7w42ak3a0e3ah.
Blog
Germano, William. 2017. “Futurist Shock.” Lingua Franca (blog), Chronicle of Higher Education. February 15, 2017. http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2017/02/15/futurist[1]shock/.
Saunders, Rip. 2017. “Fintech Groups Express Support for OCC Charter,” RipSaunders (blog). January 20, 2017. http://ripsaunders.livejournal.com/375181.html.
Social media
Díaz, Junot. 2016. “Always surprises my students when I tell them that the ‘real’ medieval was more diverse than the fake ones most of us consume.” Facebook, February 24, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/junotdiaz.writer/posts/972495572815454.
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.
Souza, Pete (@petesouza). 2016. “President Obama bids farewell to President Xi of China at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit.” Instagram photo, April 1, 2016. https://www.instagram.com/p/BDrmfXTtNCt/.
YouTube
Jones, Steve. 2013. “Accounting Basics.” YouTube video. Accessed May 24, 2018. http://youtube.com/watch?v=mpNmcFzy6-22.
Video/Film
Akira. Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. 1987. London: Manga Entertainment, 2003. DVD.
Citing Governmental Sources
Government publication/standard
U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2011. Let’s Eat for the Health of It. No. 232-CP. https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/27_DGCB-LEFTHOI.pdf.
In-Text Citations
Books
one author
Note that no punctuation is used between the name and the date, but a comma separates the page number.
Example: According to the observations, “traditional industrial psychology no longer met the
varied needs of organizations” (Gallos 2006, xv).
When the information from the source is paraphrased, the page number is not required. Example: The most commonly used definition of organization development is unsuitable for contemporary corporate reality (Gallos 2006).
Two or three authors
All authors are listed after the citation in the same order as in the references list. The word “and” is
used to separate the authors.
Example: “Morality, it could be argued, represents the way that people would like the world to work —
whereas economics represents how it does work” (Levitt and Dubner 2005, 11).
More than three authors
List only the first of the authors from the list, followed by et al.
Example: There is a visible shift towards experience-based incentives in the HRM field
(Sunders et al. 2012).
Chapter in an edited book
Provide the name of the chapter’s author.
Example: Applicability of school education is currently a priority among educators (Savery 2014).
Multiple sources
If more than one source is cited in the same sentence, list them alphabetically and separate them with a semicolon.
Example: Most definitions characterize OD as managed vertically (Chang 2009; Smith 2013; Wright 2010).
Different authors with the same surnames
Use initials before last names to distinguish between the authors.
Example: Globalization is credited for fueling the off-shore practices (H. Wang 2012). However, according to Y. Wang (2012), its impact on the diversification of markets is often overlooked in this context.
Same year/same author
If an author has more than one publication in one year, write the author’s last name followed by the date and a corresponding letter from the references list.
Example: Perceived conflict is a stage at which the events are identified as a source of disturbance (Finkelman 2012a).
A source with no date
If the date of publication cannot be ascertained, write the author’s last name followed by Example: Despite the best efforts of the researchers, neither of these claims was
corroborated (Maxwell n.d.).
A source quoted in another work
Example: The original work by Einstein contained numerous arithmetical errors (as cited in
Aslan 2013).
Scholarly journal article
Journal citations share citation style with books but require mentioning the page.
Example: There is a direct relationship between employee engagement and productivity (Johnson et al.
2014, 533).
Newspaper article
Example: The procession participants were “treated in the most unacceptable way” (Barber 2011,
D2).
Entire website
Use the name of the website followed by the date of publication or the date of accessing the source.
Example: The rules of the site explicitly forbid using it only for business purposes (WHO 2016).
Page from a website
Include the name of the author instead of the name of the resource.
Example: Value added may or may not result in changes in the product’s price (Stephens 2016).
Corporate Author
If the information comes from an organization or other corporate entity, list its name in the place of
the author.
Example: Privacy and integrity are the focus of the new regulations (British Government 2014).
Page with an unknown author
Use the name of the website in an in-text citation.
Example: (Oath Inc. 2018).
Page with unknown author and date
Use the name of the website followed by n.d.
Example: Despite the best efforts of experts, the content of the manuscript remains unknown (WHO
n.d.).
Video/Film
List the title of the video and a publication/access date.
The absurdity of the situation reaches its peak in the apprehension scene (Boyz n the Hood 1991).
Lecture/presentation
Write the lecture author and date.
Example: Economies of scale have a strong influence on off-shoring practices (Donnerly 2014).
Government publication/standard
List the name of the organization followed by the year of publication.
Example: Ethylmercury in standard doses has no known effect on health (USFDA 2014).
Social media
Example:
(Díaz, 2016)
(O’Brien 2015)
(Souza 2016)
Dissertation/thesis
List the author’s name and publication date.
Example: The traditional shrimp industry was the first to feel the impact of globalization (Janet 2005).
Conference Proceedings
Authors’ names are followed by the year of the publication.
Example: The critical approach was considered evident only in a fraction of cases (Gentry and Simmons 2001)