Chicago A (footnote)

Chicago A

General style notes

Before writing your list of references, check with your tutor or lecturer for the bibliographic style preferred by the School or Department.

About Chicago A (notes and bibliography)

Chicago style has both an author-date system and a notes and bibliography system. This guide refers only to the notes and bibliography system.

There are two key components:

  1. Footnotes or endnotes.
  2. A bibliography.

There are no specific guidelines for citing ChatGPT or other generative AI in the Chicago Manual of Style. Until formal guidelines have been provided by the Chicago Manual of Style, references from AI chat generators are being treated as personal communications. As this is an evolving situation, please check with your lecturers for guidance.

Access to the full style manual

About footnotes and endnotes

  • What are footnotes and endnotes?

    A footnote or an endnote lists the author, title, and facts of publication, in that order. Elements are separated by commas and the facts of publication are enclosed in parentheses.

    The notes are usually numbered and correspond to superscripted note reference numbers in the text.

  • Formatting footnotes

    Authors’ names are presented in standard order (first name first).

    Titles are capitalised headline-style (all major words).
    Titles of larger works (e.g., books and journals) are italicised.
    Titles of smaller works (e.g., chapters, articles) or unpublished works are enclosed in quotation marks and not italicised.

    Give full details in the first footnote and abbreviated version in subsequent footnotes. For example:

    First footnote

    1. Kristin Otto, Yarra: A Diverting History (Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2009), 12.

    Subsequent footnotes

    7. Otto, Yarra, 23.

Bibliography

  • Formatting the bibliography

    In a bibliography entry the elements are separated by periods rather than by commas and the facts of publication are not enclosed in parentheses.

    Otto, Kristin. Yarra: A Diverting History. Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2009.

    The first-listed author’s name, according to which the entry is alphabetised in the bibliography, is inverted (last name first).

    Where there are four or more authors the footnote should give the name of the first author only, followed by ‘et al.’ The bibliography entry should include the names of all the authors.

    Titles are capitalised headline-style (all major words).
    Titles of larger works (e.g., books, journals and websites) are italicised.
    Titles of smaller works (e.g., chapters, articles and web pages) or unpublished works are enclosed in quotation marks and not italicised.

    For books, specify the edition for all editions other than the first.

    Do not include personal communications, such as letters or informal emails, in the bibliography. These should appear only in footnotes.

    The bibliography can be divided into sections (e.g. primary and secondary sources).

    Each entry in a bibliography or reference list should begin on a new line. If the entry goes over more than one line, use your word processor’s indentation feature to assign a hanging indent to each line after the first one.

  • Citing secondary sources

    The Chicago Manual of Style advises against citations taken from secondary sources (i.e. “quoted in”), but check with your lecturer or tutor if you are in doubt. For more information refer to Chicago Manual of Style (14.260) (login required).

  • Acceptable abbreviations

    Acceptable abbreviations in the bibliography for parts of books and other publications include:

    chap. chapter
    ed. edition
    et al. and others
    rev. ed. revised edition
    2nd ed. second edition
    ed. (eds) editor (editors)
    trans. translator(s)
    n.d. no date
    vol. volume (as in vol. 4)
    vols volumes (as in 4 vols.)
    no. number
    suppl. supplement
    s.v. under the word
  • Citing books
    • Specify the edition if it is not the first edition.
    • In the bibliography, works without an author should appear alphabetically by the main word of the title (ignore ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘an’).
    • No page numbers are given for books. Give beginning and ending page numbers for book chapters.
    • Do not use ‘p’ or ‘pp’ before the page numbers.
    • Editor's names should be followed with the abbreviation ed. (or eds.). Use the same format where there is a translator or compiler instead of an editor.
    • For online books include the DOI (or URL) as the last part of the citation and refer to section headings in lieu of page numbers.
    • Published musical scores are treated in the same way as books.
  • Citing journal articles
    • Include both article title and subtitle, regardless of length.
    • In the bibliography, give the start and end pages of the article. Do not use ‘p’ or ‘pp’ before the page numbers.
    • In footnotes, cite specific pages (unless you are referring to the whole article).
    • If a journal is paginated consecutively across a volume or if the month or season appears with the year, the issue number may be omitted.
    • For online articles that have not been assigned a DOI include a URL. Note that DOI is lowercased and followed by a colon (with no space after) in source citations.
    • Access dates are not required by Chicago in citations of formally published electronic sources (see Chicago Manual of Style, Ch.14.12).
    • If an access date is required (by publisher or discipline) they should immediately precede the URL, separated from the surrounding citation by commas in a note and periods in a bibliography entry.
  • Citing newspapers
    • If there is no article title, give the article type (not in quotation marks). For example: Obituary, Editorial.
    • Omit ‘The’ from newspaper titles.
    • Add a city name if the newspaper is not well known e.g. Examiner (Launceston).
    • Page numbers are usually omitted.
    • Details of the edition can be added to a note or bibliographical entry. For example: final edition, Midwest edition.
    • If the paper is published in several sections, the section number or name may be given.
    • To cite an article consulted online, include the URL.
  • Citing electronic sources
    • A web page is any one of the “pages,” or subdocuments, that make up a website. A blog is a category of website that includes dated entries and dated comments. The title of a blog should be italicised; titles of blog entries (analogous to articles in a periodical) should be in quotation marks.
    • Include the title of the web page, the title of the website (or a description), the author of the content and/or the owner (sponsor) of the site, and a URL.
    • Include a publication date (or date of modification/revision). If no such date can be found, include an access date.
      Precede date of modification or access with 'last modified' and 'accessed' respectively.
    • If a website refers to themselves by their domain name (which is case sensitive), shorten and capitalise it in a logical way (e.g., www.google.com becomes Google).
    • Citations of website content are usually only included in the text and the notes, not in the bibliography.
  • Citing audio-visual sources
    • Episodes and indexed scenes are treated like chapters.
    • Sound recordings should be grouped under an appropriate subheading in the bibliography (see Chicago manual of style, chapter 14.263).

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Artificial Intelligence Generated Text Software (eg ChatGPT)

There are no specific guidelines for citing ChatGPT or other generative AI in Chicago A.  In the interim, references from AI chat generators are being treated as personal communications. Use this resource to guide you on how to appropriately acknowledge the use of AI tools and technologies in your assessments.

Check with your lecturers and tutors whether artificial intelligence (AI) text generators are permitted in your assessment tasks. For more information, see the Academic Integrity Statement on Artificial Intelligence Tools and Technologies.

Format for footnotes

Elements, punctuation & capitalisation

Developer and name/description of the AI program, type of communication, interviewer or recipient of communication, date of interview/communication/generated response

OR

Developer and name/description of the AI program. Version number, type of communication, interviewer or recipient of communication, date of interview/communication/generated response.

Cite the source in notes only, do not include it in your bibliography. If you cite it again, you can shorten the description to something like ‘ChatGPT response’.

Examples

Note:
64. OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, response to question by author, February 14, 2023.
69. ChatGPT response, February 16, 2023.

or

64. OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model. V.15, response to question by author, February 14, 2023.
69. ChatGPT response, February 16, 2023.

Format for bibliography

Personal communication is not usually referred to in the bibliography, however can be included if they are critical to your argument or are cited frequently. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.

Style notes for this reference type

  • See Manual 14.214.
  • References to conversation, letters, email, text messages or AI are usually run in to the text (i.e 'In a conversation with the author on September 15, 2011, Jasper Jones stated that...') or given in a footnote.
  • It is usually sufficient to simply refer to a conversation or message, but you may include the medium of communication if relevant (i.e. Facebook message; email).
  • Personal communication is not usually referred to the bibliography as it is unpublished (see Manual 14.214).  Occasionally interviews do appear in bibliographies (see Manual 14.211).
  • Email addresses should not be published unless necessary for the argument and express permission is granted by the owner.
  • It is recommended you obtain the permission of the person who is communicating the information.
  • If there is any additional contextual information that is significant to this communication, please include it in the citation.

Explore resources to help with reference management and enable you to effectively integrate and cite sources into your writing and assessment tasks .

Books and book chapters, theses, encyclopaedia and dictionary entries

Author type

Book type


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Film, video, gaming and apps

Reference type


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Including images in your work

Image type


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Indigenous Knowledges and Knowledge-Keepers

There are a number of templates, ideas and resources being circulated in referencing Indigenous Knowledges, as First Nations people, communities and librarians co-create and decolonise referencing systems.

Currently guidance can be found in:

Each template recommends recording further information to reference Indigenous knowledges and knowledge-sharing practices in context.

There is currently no guidance in the Chicago Manual on Indigenous Knowledges and Knowledge-Keepers.

Indigenous understandings of authorship, community, Country, cultural authority, context, time and place are not appropriately recorded. If you are creating a reference for Indigenous knowledges, please record any information that is appropriate as a part of your own protocols,  and ways of giving acknowledgement and respect.

Journal and magazine articles


Journal article type


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Music, sound recordings, podcasts etc.

Reference type

Music writing tasks often require you to support your arguments and ideas with examples from musical scores, which can help illustrate your points clearly and succinctly.

Incorporating music examples: Academic Skills


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Music scores, songs, transcriptions, liner notes 


Reference type

Music writing tasks often require you to support your arguments and ideas with examples from musical scores, which can help illustrate your points clearly and succinctly.

Incorporating music examples: Academic Skills


Relevant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Newspaper articles

Newspaper article type


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Non-English language sources

If you are referencing non-English language sources, you need to include the original title, followed by an English translation of the title in square brackets. It is customary to transliterate—that is, convert to the Latin alphabet, or romanise—words or phrases from languages that do not use the Latin alphabet.

Example - footnotes

First entry:

2. W. Kern, “Waar verzamelde Pigafetta zijn Maleise woorden?” [Where did Pigafetta collect his Malaysian words?], Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land- en volkenkunde 78 (1938): 272.

5. W. Yu, "Luyeyuan shiku de buju sheji yu zaoxiang zuhe" [The Design and Statues Combination of Mrgadava Caves],  Zhongyuan Wenwu 2 (2011): 68.

Format for bibliography

Example - bibliography entry

Kern, W. “Waar verzamelde Pigafetta zijn Maleise woorden?” [Where did Pigafetta collect his Malaysian words?]. Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land- en volkenkunde 78 (1938): 271–73.

Yu, W. "Luyeyuan shiku de buju sheji yu zaoxiang zuhe" [The Design and Statues Combination of Mrgadava Caves].  Zhongyuan Wenwu 2 (2011): 67-72.

Personal communications (interviews, letters, emails, lectures)


Reference type


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Referring to images/ artworks

Image type


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Reports and conference papers

Reference type


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Unpublished: Performances, transcriptions, manuscripts

Unpublished source type


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Websites and social media


Reference type


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Quick Guide to Chicago A

Download this Quick Guide to Chicago A (footnotes) for a handy guide to the style, with a summary of the main elements and examples of the most commonly cited reference types.

Sample bibliography


Bibliography

Bardhan, Ronita, Ramit Debnath, Jeetika Malik, and Ahana Sarkar. “Low-Income Housing Layouts under Socio-Architectural Complexities: A Parametric Study for Sustainable Slum Rehabilitation.” Sustainable Cities and Society 41 (August 2018): 126–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.04.038.

Butchardt, Amber. "A Stitch in Time S01E02 Arnolfini." February 12, 2018. YouTube video, 28:54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u2RM1odsf4.

Chadwick, Ben, Chris Cormack, and Aleisha Amohia. “Koha for a Cataloguing Agency: Considerations and Challenges for a System Implementation During COVID Lockdown.” Paper presented at the VALA2022 Conference. Melbourne, Australia, June 14-16, 2022. https://www.vala.org.au/vala2022-proceedings/.

Hedgecock, Sandy. “Haydn: Symphonies 61-65." November 10, 2021. In Classical Music Discoveries. Podcast, MP3 audio, 107:00.  https://www.audacy.com/podcasts/classical-music-discoveries-61884/episode-15-18015-haydn-symphonies-61-65-928305521.

Fuimaono, Ronicera Sauaga, “The Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Approach in Action: An Analysis of the Work of Two NGOs in Samoa.” PhD thesis, Massey University, 2012. https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/3427.

Giles-Corti, Billie, Serryn Eagleson, and Melanie Lowe. Securing Australia’s Future - Sustainable Urban Mobility: The Public Health Impact of Transportation Decision. Melbourne: Australian Council of Learned Academics (ACOLA), 2014. http://acola.org.au/wp/PDF/SAF08/Health%20Consultancy.pdf.

Hyde, Rory. Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Architecture. New York: Routledge, 2013.

Levin, Michael. The Condition of England Question: Carlyle, Mill, Engels. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26562-6.

Morrison, Blake. “From Hutch to Home,” review of Estates by Lynsey Hanley. The Guardian. January 7, 2007. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jan/06/communities.housing.

Pacheco, Beatriz, Werner Marin, Bruno Cruz, Vinicius Miana, Ilana Souza-Concilio, Joaquim Filho, and Pedro Braga. “What Where?! A Game for Learning Art, History and Architecture.”In Twelfth Latin American Conference on Learning Technologies, 159-162. La Plata, Argentina: IEEE, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1109/LACLO.2017.8120909.

Samuels, Stuart. “The Left Book Club.” Journal of Contemporary History 1, no. 2 (1966): 65–86.

Spencer, Stephanie. “Women and the Welfare State.” In Gender, Work and Education in Britain in the 1950s, edited by Stephanie Spencer, 22–48. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230286184_2.

Wollan, Gjermund. “Heidegger’s Philosophy of Space and Place.” Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography 57, no. 1 (2003): 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/00291950310000802.


Style notes for Bibliography

In a bibliography entry the elements are separated by periods rather than by commas and the facts of publication are not enclosed in parentheses.

The first-listed author’s name, according to which the entry is alphabetised in the bibliography, is inverted (last name first).

Where there are four or more authors the footnote should give the name of the first author only, followed by ‘et al.’ The bibliography entry should include the names of all the authors.

Titles are capitalised headline-style (all major words).
Titles of larger works (e.g., books, journals and websites) are italicised.
Titles of smaller works (e.g., chapters, articles and web pages) or unpublished works are enclosed in quotation marks and not italicised.

For books, specify the edition for all editions other than the first.

Do not include personal communications, such as letters or informal emails, in the bibliography. These should appear only in footnotes.

The bibliography can be divided into sections (e.g. primary and secondary sources).

The Chicago Manual of Style advises against citations taken from secondary sources (i.e. “quoted in”), but check with your lecturer or tutor if you are in doubt. For more information refer to Chicago Manual of Style (14.260) (login required).

Acceptable abbreviations in the bibliography for parts of books and other publications include:

chap.chapter
ed.edition
et al.and others
rev. ed.revised edition
2nd ed.second edition
ed. (eds)editor (editors)
trans.translator(s)
n.d.no date
vol.volume (as in vol. 4)
volsvolumes (as in 4 vols.)
no.number
suppl.supplement
s.v.under the word

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography provides a brief account of the available research on a given topic. Find out how to select resources, what to include, and which writing style to use.

Writing an annotated bibliography

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Further help


If you are unsure about which referencing style to use, check with your tutor, lecturer or supervisor for the style preferred by your Faculty, School or Department.


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Explore resources to help with reference management and enable you to effectively integrate and cite sources into your writing and assessment tasks.