Secondary source in a journal article

You may need to consult more than one section of Re:cite to accurately represent the source used. Your citation may look different depending on the number of authors it has. Check the frequently asked questions about Chicago A for further advice.

The Chicago Manual of Style advises against citations taken from secondary sources (i.e. “quoted in”), as writers are expected to consult the resources they cite. This is to ensure the accuracy of the quotation or statement and also maintain its original intent. The examples here are provided for circumstances where the original source is unavailable to consult. Check with your lecturer or tutor if you are in doubt.

For more information refer to Chicago Manual of Style (14.160).

Footnote template

Footnote number. Author, "Title of chapter/article," Title of Book/Journal (publication details): page number(s), quoted in Author, "Title of article," Journal Title vol, no. x (date): page numbers. DOI/URL/Database name.

Footnote example

First entry:

12. D.A. Schon, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (Basic Books Inc., 1983): 140, quoted in Craig Batty and Marsha Berry, "Constellations and Connections: The Playful Space of the Creative Practice Research Degree," Journal of Media Practice 16, no. 3 (2015): 185, doi:10.1080/14682753.2015.1116753.

Second and subsequent entries:

22. Schon, The Reflective Practitioner, 140.

Bibliography

Bibliography template

Author (Surname, Given Name). "Title of chapter/article." Title of Book/Journal (publication details), page number(s). Quoted in Author. "Title of article." In Journal Title vol, no. x (date): page numbers. DOI/URL/Database name.

Bibliography examples

Schon, D.A. The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (Basic Books Inc., 1983): 140. Quoted in Craig Batty and Marsha Berry. "Constellations and Connections: The Playful Space of the Creative Practice Research Degree." In Journal of Media Practice 16, no. 3 (2015): 185. doi:10.1080/14682753.2015.1116753.

Tips for this reference type

  • See Manual 14.160.
  • The use of secondary citations is not recommended. You should seek out the original source wherever possible.
  • Where the original source cannot be consulted, you must list both the original and the secondary source in your citation.
  • The format of the citations may differ depending on the type of documents you are consulting.
  • For resources with more than one author, consult the About Chicago A page.
  • For articles consulted online, the preference is to include a DOI or stable URL. Sometimes a suitable URL will not be available, or will be restricted to subscribers to the database. In these cases, it is appropriate to list the name of the database used (Manual 14.72).
  • For articles consulted in print, omit the DOI, URL or database name from your citation.
  • Access dates are generally not required by Chicago in citations of formally published electronic sources, however if an access date is required (by publisher or discipline) it should immediately precede the URL, separated from the surrounding citation by commas in a note and periods in a reference list entry (Manual 14.73).
  • Advice on alternative page numbering can be found at Manual 14.71.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)