Websites and social media
You may need to consult more than one section to accurately represent the source used (eg. number of authors and source descriptions)
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Web page with author
Format for footnotes
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
26. Author of content, "Title/description of page," Title/description of Website, Date (of publication, modification or access), URL.
Footnote example
First entry:
26. Anne O'Hehir, "The Woman Behind the Lens: Diane Arbus," Melbourne Theatre Company, published September 4, 2018, https://www.mtc.com.au/discover-more/backstage/the-woman-behind-the-lens-diane-arbus/.
Second and subsequent entries:
33. O'Hehir, "Woman Behind the Lens."
Format for bibliography
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
Citations of websites are usually omitted from the bibliography, however they should be included if they form a critical part of your research, or if they are frequently cited. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
Author (surname, first name). "Title/description of page." Title/description of Website. Date (of publication, modification or access). URL.
Bibliography entry example
O'Hehir, Anne. "The Woman Behind the Lens: Diane Arbus." Melbourne Theatre Company. Published September 4, 2018. http://www.mtc.com.au/backstage/2018/09/feature-the-woman-behind-the-lens-diane-arbus/.
Style notes for this reference type
- See Manual 14.207 and Turabian 17.7.1.
- A web page is any one of the “pages,” or subdocuments, that make up a website.
- 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.
- Titles of individual specific pages should be in quotation marks. Titles of websites as whole should appear in roman type (not italics) (Manual 14.206).
- 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. However, if they form a critical part of your research or are frequently cited, they may be included in your bibliography. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
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Web page with no author
Format for footnotes
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
25. "Title/description of Page," Title/description of Website, Date (of publication, modification or access), URL.
Example - footnotes
First entry:
25. "Feminisms: Plural and Evolving," Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, published January 2018, http://content.acca.melbourne/uploads/2018/02/Feminisms-3.pdf.
Second and subsequent entries:
33. "Feminisms: Plural and Evolving."
Format for bibliography
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
Citations of websites are usually omitted from the bibliography, however they should be included if they form a critical part of your research, or if they are frequently cited. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
Owner/sponsor of Website. "Title/description of page." Title/description of Website. Date (of publication, modification or access). URL.
Example - bibliography entry
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. "Feminisms: Plural and Evolving." Published January 2018. http://content.acca.melbourne/uploads/2018/02/Feminisms-3.pdf.
Style notes for this reference type
- See Manual 14.207 and Turabian 17.7.1.
- A web page is any one of the “pages,” or subdocuments, that make up a website.
- 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.
- Titles of individual specific pages should be in quotation marks. Titles of websites as whole should appear in roman type (not italics) (Manual 14.206).
- In the bibliography, where there is no author, list the item by the owner or sponsor of the website.
- 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.
- Citations of website content are usually only included in the text and the notes. However, if they form a critical part of your research or are frequently cited, they may be included in your bibliography. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
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Blog post
Format for footnotes
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
27. Author, "Title of Blog Post," Title of Blog (blog), Date of post, URL.
Footnote example
First entry:
27. Trevor Hunt, “Some Wartime Memorabilia,” Digging for Victory! (blog), May 16, 2010, http://wartimegardening.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/some-wartime-memorabilia.
Second and subsequent entries:
33. Hunt, "Wartime Memorabilia."
Format for bibliography
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
Citations of blog posts can be omitted from the bibliography, however they should be included if they form a critical part of your research, or if they are frequently cited. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
Author. "Title of Blog Post." Title of Blog (blog). Date of post. URL.
Bibliography entry example
Hunt, Trevor. "Some Wartime Memorabilia." Digging for Victory! (blog). May 16, 2010. http://wartimegardening.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/some-wartime-memorabilia.
Style notes for this reference type
- See Manual 14.208.
- A blog is a category of website that includes dated entries and dated comments.
- Include the title of the blog, the title of the website (or a description), the author of the content, and a URL.
- The title of a blog should be italicised; titles of blog entries (similar to articles in a periodical) should be in quotation marks.
- A blog that is part of a larger publication (i.e Times) should also include the name of that publication in italics after the blog title (Manual 14.208).
- 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.
- Citations of website content are usually only included in the text and the notes. However, if they form a critical part of your research or are frequently cited, they may be included in your bibliography. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
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Social media post
Format for footnotes
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
27. Author of post (handle where available), "Text of post," Location/description of post, Date of post, URL.
Footnote example
First entry:
5. University of Melbourne Library (@unilibrary), “
#Onthisday in 1975 90% of Icelandic women went on strike, refusing to work in protest of gender inequality. This became known as 'Women's Day Off',” Twitter, October 23, 2018, https://twitter.com/unilibrary/status/1054855102111064065.Second and subsequent entries:
33. University of Melbourne Library, "#Onthisday."
Format for bibliography
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
Citations of social media posts can generally be omitted from the bibliography, however they should be included if they form a critical part of your research, or if they are frequently cited. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
Author of Post (handle where available). "Text of Post." Location/description of Post. Date of post. URL.
Bibliography entry example
University of Melbourne Library (@unilibrary). “
#Onthisday in 1975 90% of Icelandic women went on strike, refusing to work in protest of gender inequality. This became known as 'Women's Day Off'.” Twitter. October 23, 2018. https://twitter.com/unilibrary/status/1054855102111064065.Style notes for this reference type
- See Manual 14.209.
- These examples are for publicly available content. Private and direct messages should be treated as a form of personal communication (see Manual 14.214).
- The text of post should include up to 160 characters, including spaces.
- The location or description of the post could include the social media service and a description if relevant (i.e. Instagram photo).
- Time stamps are not usually necessary, but can be included for differentiate posts from the same day.
- A URL for a specific item can often be found via the date stamp.
- Comments on posts should be cited in relation to the respective post (see examples at Manual 14.209).
- Citations of social media content are usually only included in the text and the notes. However, if they form a critical part of your research or are frequently cited, they may be included in your bibliography. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
Before selecting a referencing style check with your tutor, lecturer or supervisor for the style preferred by the School or Department.
Introduction to the style
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:
- Footnotes or endnotes.
- A bibliography.
Access to the full style manual
This guide is based on the Chicago Manual of Style, Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.
The full style manual is available as a library eBook. Print copies are available from the University of Melbourne library. Consult the official manual for more information.
Footnotes
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.
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
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) |
| vols | volumes (as in 4 vols.) |
| no. | number |
| suppl. | supplement |
| s.v. | under the word |