The Chicago Style has two citation versions: the Notes & Bibliography style (examples) and the Author-Date style (last name and year of publication, examples). Which one you choose depends on the subject and the sources you have used.
The Humanities (including Literature, History and the Arts) prefer the Notes & Bibliography style. In this system numbered footnotes or endnotes refer to the used sources. Each note corresponds with a superscript number in the text. Sources are usually listed in a separate reading list.
The concise Author-Date system is used in the Natural Sciences and the Social Sciences. In this system the sources are briefly represented in the text by last name of the author and year of publication in brackets. In the reading list the full bibliographic details are given.
See also the Chicago Manual of Style (e-book in the library collection).
If you use AI-generated text in your own work, you must mention this. Because AI-generated text cannot be reproduced by others, it should be considered a form of personal communication, that you only mention in the text itself and not in a biography or bibliography.
Author/date style
Place any information that is not in the text already between brackets.
For example:
The response to my prompt “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients" (ChatGPT, November 8, 2023), found the following recipe:...
Notes and bibliography style
In most cases a mention in the text is sufficient, see above. Sometimes you need a more formal mention, for example in a thesis or article. In that case, create a footnote or endnote.
Example:
The response to my prompt “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients" (ChatGPT, 8 November 2023), found the following recipe1:...
Or, if you do not mention the prompt in the main text, you can also mention it (briefly) in the note:
Note to students: teachers may request additional information from you when using GenAI, such as an explanation of what you did and why or even your specific prompts. Check with your teacher if, how and where you need to add this information.
For more information and, for example, the use of chatbots in the Chicago style, see the online guide or the Chicago style blog.
In the boxes below you will find some examples of references in the Chicago style.
For a complete overview go to the Chicago Manual of Style 18th (and 17th) edition (e-book in the library collection) or the Turabian Manual of Style.
Find out which style must be used in your study programme.
NB this libguide is still based on the 17th edition of the Chicago style. For a complete list of changes go to the Chicago Style help pages.
In the reading list (in alphabetical order) you include the paging of the entire article, in the reference in the text you put the page(s) of the quote. In the case of online articles also give the URL or preferably (if present) the DOI (Digital Object Identifier). A DOI is a sustainable URL that starts with https://doi.org/.
Journal articles often have more than one author. If there are up to ten authors you mention them all in your reading list, in the reference in the text you only give the name of the first author, followed by et al. ( "and others"). In the case of more than ten authors you only mention the first seven in your reading list, followed by et al.
Author-date style (see style guide)
In the reading list ( place in alphabetical order):
If the journal is published in numbered issues with no volume number: (see style guide)
References in the text:
(Dittmar and Schemske 2023, 480)
(Beattie 1974, 47)
Notes & bibliography style (see style guide)
Notes:
1. Emily L. Dittmar and Douglas W. Schemske, “Temporal Variation in Selection Influences Microgeographic Local Adaptation,” American Naturalist 202, no. 4 (2023): 480, https://doi.org/10.1086/725865.
2. Benjamin Lindquist, “The Art of Text-to-Speech,” Critical Inquiry 50, no. 2 (2023): 230, https://doi.org/10.1086/727651.
Shortened notes
3. Dittmar and Schemske, “Temporal Variation,” 480.
4. Lindquist, “Text-to-Speech,” 231–32.
In the case of online books (ebooks), give the URL in the reading list.
Author-date style (in style guide)
In the reading list (in alphabetical order):
Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. 2015. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Kurland, Philip B., and Ralph Lerner, eds. 1987. The Founders’ Constitution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/.
Smith, Zadie. 2016. Swing Time. New York: Penguin Press.
References in the text:
(Grazer and Fishman 2015, 12)
(Smith 2016, 315–16)
(Kurland and Lerner 1987, chap. 10)
Notes & bibliography style (in style guide)
Notes:
1. Zadie Smith, Swing Time (New York: Penguin Press, 2016), 315–16.
2. Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 12.
Shortened notes:
3. Smith, Swing Time, 320.
4. Grazer and Fishman, Curious Mind, 37.
Author-date style (in style guide)
In the reading list (in alphabetical order) you include the paging of the chapter, in the reference in the text you mention the page(s) of the quote.
Thoreau, Henry David. 2016. “Walking.” In The Making of the American Essay, edited by John D’Agata, 167–95. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press.
Reference in the text:
(Thoreau 2016, 177–78)
Notes & bibliography style (in style guide)
Note:
1. Henry David Thoreau, “Walking,” in The Making of the American Essay, ed. John D’Agata (Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2016), 177–78.
Shortened note:
2. Thoreau, “Walking,” 182.
Do you want to see more examples or get more information about, for instance, referring to doctoral theses, interviews, websites and social media sources? Please consult the Chicago Manual of Style.
The Chicago style and the Turabian style are almost identical. The difference lies mainly in the numbering of the notes.
The Turabian style uses superscript 1 for endnotes and footnote numbers, both in the text and in front of each note.
In the Chicago style the number is put in front of the notes in the text between brackets (1). in the list of endnotes the number is followed by a full stop and interspacing.
Example:
1. Chicago
1Turabian
See also the Turabian Manual of Style.
Cultural Anthropology follows the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and so uses the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style (Author-Date style).