Chicago Style Citation Example – Types of Sources

28.11.22 Chicago style overview Time to read: 5min

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Chicago-style-citation-example-Definition

The Chicago Style Guide is one of the most widely used academic writing styles. It’s a versatile method with options to cite both in-text and within notes. The most commonly used types of sources when citing in Chicago are books, journal articles, websites, and YouTube videos. This article will delve into the most common source types that are cited in Chicago style and illustrate Chicago style citation examples and formats for each source type.

Chicago Style Citation Example – In a Nutshell

  • Chicago style citation example can follow notes and bibliography or author-date conventions. These are usually discipline-specific, with humanities favoring the former and sciences the latter.
  • Be consistent with your citation throughout your paper.
  • While every citation follows a similar formula, each requires different sets of information. Follow the guidelines to provide proper source citations.

Definition: Chicago style citation example

Chicago style citation consists of two different options:

Notes and bibliography citation

The most common Chicago style citation example is notes and bibliography. It’s favored by the humanities and involves a choice of footnotes or endnotes for references that are backed up with detailed bibliographical information at the end.

Author-date in-text citation

By comparison, the author-date method is a Chicago style citation example used predominantly in the sciences. This is largely down to the conventions of citation in both respective fields, with humanities tending to gage with a wider range of references. The result sees references placed apart from the main text to help an argument’s flow.

Chicago style citation example of a book

Below you can find the notes and bibliography Chicago style citation example and format of a book source:

Format

Full note Author full name, Full Book Title, edition. (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), page numbers, URL.
Short note Author last name, Shortened Book Title, page number(s).
Bibliography entry Author last name, first name. Full Book Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Year. URL/DOI.

Example

Full note:

Simon Schama, The Power of Art, first ed. (London: BBC Books, 2006), 329.

Short note:

Schama, Power of Art, 329.

Bibliography entry:

Schama, Simon. The Power of Art. London: BBC Books, 2006.

Below you can find the author-date Chicago style example and format of a book source:

Format

In-text citation (Author last name Year, page number(s))
Reference formula Author last name, first name. Year. Full Book Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher. URL/DOI.

Example

In-text citation:

(Schama 2006, 329).

Reference list:

Schama, Simon. 2006. The Power of Art. London: BBC Books.

Chicago style citation example of an article/journal

Below you can find the note and bibliography Chicago style citation example and format of an article source:

Format

Full note Author first name Last name, “Journal Article Title,” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range.
Short note Author last name, “Shortened Title", Page number(s).
Bibliography entry Author last name, First name. “Journal Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range.

Example

Full note:

Simon Schama, “Fine-Cutting Clio.” The Public Historian 25, no. 3 (Summer 2003): 15.

Short note:

Schama, “Fine-Cutting Clio,” 15.

Bibliography entry:

Schama, Simon. “Fine-Cutting Clio.” The Public Historian 25, no. 3 (Summer 2003): 15–25.

Below you can find the author-date Chicago style example and format of an article source:

Format

In-text citation (Author last name Year, page number(s)).
Reference formula Author last name, First name. Year. “Journal Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season): Page range.

Example

In-text citation:

(Schama 2003, 15).

Reference list:

Schama, Simon. 2003. “Fine-Cutting Clio.” The Public Historian 25, no. 3 (Summer): 15–25.

Chicago style citation example of an online journal

Below you can find the note and bibliography Chicago style citation example and format of an online journal source:

Format

Full note Author first name Last name, “Journal Article Title,” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. DOI/URL.
Short note Author last name, “Shortened Title,” Page number(s).
Bibliography entry Author last name, First name. “Journal Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. DOI/URL.

Example

Full note:

Simon Schama, “Fine-Cutting Clio.” The Public Historian 25, no. 3 (Summer 2003): 15. https://doi.org/10.1525/tph.2003.25.3.15.

Short note:

Schama, “Fine-Cutting Clio,” 15.

Bibliography entry:

Schama, Simon. “Fine-Cutting Clio.” The Public Historian 25, no. 3 (2003): 15–25. https://doi.org/10.1525/tph.2003.25.3.15.

Below you can find the author-date Chicago style example and format of an online journal source:

Format

In-text citation (Author last name Year, page number(s)).
Reference formula Author last name, First name. Year. “Journal Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season): Page range. DOI/URL.

Example

In-text citation:

(Schama 2003, 15).

Reference list:

Schama, Simon. 2003. “Fine-Cutting Clio.” The Public Historian 25, no. 3 (Summer): 15–25. https://doi.org/10.1525/tph.2003.25.3.15

Chicago style citation example of a website

Below you can find the note and bibliography Chicago style citation example and format of a website source:

Format

Full note Author first name last name, “Page Title,” Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.
Short note Author last name, “Shortened Title.”
Bibliography entry Author last name, first name. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year. URL.

Example

Full note:

Simon Schama, “When History is Weaponized for War,” Financial Times, May 6, 2022. https://www.ft.com/content/25a57741-34e6-403b-b216-1704448afc0a

Short note:

Schama, “When History is Weaponized.”

Bibliography entry:

Schama, Simon. “When History is Weaponized for War.” Financial Times. May 6, 2022. https://www.ft.com/content/25a57741-34e6-403b-b216-1704448afc0a

Below you can find the author-date Chicago style example and format of a website source:

Format

In-text citation (Author last name Year)
Reference list Author last name, first name. Year. “Page Title.” Website Name. Month Day, Year (of publication). URL.

Example

In-text citation:

(Schama 2022)

Reference list:

Schama, Simon. 2022. “When History is Weaponized for War.” Financial Times. May 6, 2022. https://www.ft.com/content/25a57741-34e6-403b-b216-1704448afc0a

Website authors and dates

List the author of the web content where possible, however, if information about the author is msising, do the following instead:

  • If no author is listed, begin a full note citation with the name of the page instead.
  • For short notes and bibliography entries, use the organization’s name.
  • If the organization’s name is the same as the website name, like a newspaper, then do not repeat this title later.

Most web sources should indicate the date of publication. Include whatever information is available for the month, day and year. If one of these is missing, simply exclude the individual element. With web sources that are revised either in place of or in addition to the original publication, enter this new date with the words “Last Modified” preceding it.

Chicago style citation example of a YouTube video

Below you can find the note and bibliography Chicago style citation example and format of a YouTube video source:

Format

Full note Author first name Last name, “Video Title,” Channel Name/Other Information, Month Day, Year, Format, Video length or Timestamp(s), URL.
Short note Author last name, “Shortened Video Title,” Timestamp(s).
Bibliography entry Author last name, First name. “Video Title.” Channel Name/Other Information. Month Day, Year. Format, Video length. URL.

Example

Full note:

Simon Schama, “Simon Schama on the war in Ukraine,” The Convention, April 6, 2022, Interview, 12:25, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfL5oibM0Mk.

Short note:

Schama, “On War in Ukraine,” 12:25.

Bibliography entry:

Schama, Simon. “Simon Schama on the war in Ukraine.” The Convention. April 6, 2022. Interview, 12:25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfL5oibM0Mk.

Below you can find the author-date Chicago style example and format of a YouTube video source:

Format

In-text citation
(Author last name Year, Timestamp).
Reference list
Author last name, First name. Year. “Video Title.” Channel Name/Other Information. Month Day, Year. Format, Video length. URL.

Example

In-text citation:

(Schama 2022, 12:25).

Reference list:

Schama, Simon. 2022. “Simon Schama on the war in Ukraine.” The Convention. April 6, 2022. Interview, 12:25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfL5oibM0Mk.

FAQs

When you’re quoting or paraphrasing a specific section of a source. You don’t need to include page numbers when referring to general themes/arguments.

If your source has several named authors, include them in your citation. For notes and author-date styles, texts with more than four authors should include the first three names followed by “et al.”.

This depends on the source.

  • For online content, include an access date.
  • For physical sources, omit the date.