Chicago B (author-date)
Chicago B
General style notes
Before selecting a referencing style check with your tutor, lecturer or supervisor for the style preferred by the School or Department.
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
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Print and ebook available
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, and for examples not provided here.
About author-date citations
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Formatting the author-date citations
In-text citations are given in brackets, and include the author’s surname and the publication date. There is no punctuation between these elements. A page number or other location information may be added after these elements, separated by a comma.
eg. (Adam 1962)
Page numbers or other locators can be included, after the publication date and preceded by a comma.
eg. (Adam 1962, 89)
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Referring to two or more works in one citation
If you are referring to two or more works in a single citation, separate each work with a semicolon.
eg. (Adam 1962; Allport 2009)
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Direct quotations (short and not always a full sentence)
When directly quoting, the citation will appear after the final punctuation in the quote.
eg.
"Greenwood drew upon a family tradition of political radicalism and active trade unionism." (Constantine 1982, 235)
Although this can vary if the the placement allows the date to appear with the authors name
eg.
Contantine (1982, 233) points out that 'Hanky Park' "remained a working-class area, inhabited for the most part by families of miners, engineers and textile workers."
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Direct quotations (block quotations)
Direct quotations that are longer should be indented and do not have to quotation marks around them. The citation should come at the end, after the final punctuation of the quote.
eg.
It is well known that overcrowding has a general prejudicial effect upon the constitution, rendering it more vulnerable to the attacks of disease. ...We know, besides, that the more densely populated any area, the more danger there is of infectious disease spreading, with more fatal effect. That overcrowding tends also to lower the standards of morals, public and domestic, must not be forgotten. These results surely justify the most strenuous efforts and sacrifices being made to diminish overcrowding. (Warry 1901, 672)
Reference List
Unlike bibliography entries, each entry in the reference list must correspond to a work cited in the text.
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Formatting the reference list
- In a reference list entry the elements are separated by full stops.
- The first-listed author’s name, according to which the entry is alphabetised in the reference list, is inverted (last name first).
- Where there are four to ten authors, the in-text reference should give the name of the first author only, followed by ‘et al.’ The reference list entry should include the names of all the authors. See 14.76 and 15.9.
- If there are more than ten authors, list the first seven in the reference list, followed by 'et al.' See 14.76.
- Two or more works by the same author in the same year must be differentiated by adding a, b, c, and are listed alphabetically by title. In-text citations include author and year plus letter, e.g. (Krauss 2005a, 21) (Krauss 2005b, 218). See 15.20.
- 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 reference list.
- These should appear only in the in-text references.
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Secondary sources: "quoted in" or "cited in"
The Chicago Manual of Style advises against citations taken from secondary sources (i.e. “quoted in” or “cited in”), as you are expected to have read the sources you use. If an original source is unavailable, both sources must be identified in-text, but only the secondary source is listed in the Reference List.
In-text
Mention the original author and date in your text, but cite the secondary source in brackets, using “quoted in” or cited in”. For example:
In Sutherland’s article “The Existential Albatross” from the February 2014 issue of Ornithological Metaphor, (cited in Costello 1981)…
Reference List
In your reference list, cite the secondary source. For example:
Costello, Bonnie. 1981. Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
If unsure please ask your lecturer or tutor for further advice.
For more information refer to the Chicago Manual of Style (15.56).
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Acceptable abbreviations
Acceptable abbreviations in the reference list for parts of books and other publications include:
chap. or ch. 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 -
Referencing books
- Specify the edition if it is not the first edition.
- In the reference list, 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.
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Referencing journal articles
- Include both article title and subtitle, regardless of length.
- In the reference list, give the start and end pages of the article.
- Do not use ‘p’ or ‘pp’ before the page numbers.
- In-text, 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 reference list entry.
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Referencing 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 reference list 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.
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Referencing 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.
- Blog titles 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 reference list.
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Referencing audio-visual sources
Episodes and indexed scenes are treated like chapters. Sound recordings should be grouped under an appropriate subheading in the reference list (see 14.263).
For more information and examples not covered here, refer to Chicago Manual of Style 17th ed. chapter 15.
Explore resources to help with reference management and enable you to effectively integrate and cite sources into your writing and assessment tasks .
Artificial Intelligence Generated Text Software
There are no specific guidelines for citing ChatGPT or other generative AI in Chicago B. 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 in-text citation
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
(Name, date, year, communication method with Name)
Include the owner and name/description of the AI program and the full date you received or generated it.
Examples
... according to a generative text program (ChatGPT, January 19, 2023, response to question by author).
In a response from OpenAI's ChatGPT (February 2, 2023) …
Style notes for this reference style
- For more examples see Manual 15.53.
- Personal communications such as conversations, letters, emails, text messages, , AI generated text are cited in-text only.
- Separate key elements of the citation with commas.
- You can weave some or all of this information into the text.
- Dates should be included where it is not mentioned in the text.
- 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, online encyclopaedias or dictionary entries
Author type
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Film, video, gaming and apps
Reference type
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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:
- Danièle Hromek & Sophie Herbert at UTS created a design-centred guide in APA;
- Nathan Sentance has created guidance for Non-Indigenous authors citing Indigenous Knowledges in APA style;
- Excellent templates have been created by Lorisia MacLeod for MLA and APA Style;
- These templates have been adapted by Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library for Chicago Style.
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
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Music scores, songs, transcriptions, liner notes
Reference type
Music type
Liner notes |
Musical examples |
Music Score |
Online music score |
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Music, sound recordings, podcasts etc.
Reference type
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Newspaper articles
Newspaper article type
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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.
For example:
Kern, W. 1938.“Waar verzamelde Pigafetta zijn Maleise woorden?” [Where did Pigafetta collect his Malaysian words?]. Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land- en volkenkunde 78: 271–73.
Yu, W. 2011."Luyeyuan shiku de buju sheji yu zaoxiang zuhe" [The Design and Statues Combination of Mrgadava Caves]. Zhongyuan Wenwu 2: 67-72.
Personal communication
Communication type
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Referring to images/artworks
Image/artwork type
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Unpublished: Performances, transcriptions, manuscripts
Reference type
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Webpages and social media
Reference type
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Sample reference list
Reference list
Bardhan, Ronita, Ramit Debnath, Jeetika Malik, and Ahana Sarkar. 2018. “Low-Income Housing Layouts under Socio-Architectural Complexities: A Parametric Study for Sustainable Slum Rehabilitation.” Sustainable Cities and Society 41: 126–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.04.038.
Butchardt, Amber. 2018. "A Stitch in Time S01E02 Arnolfini". Uploaded to YouTube, February 13, 2018, 28:54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u2RM1odsf4.
Hedgecock, Sandy. 2021. “Haydn: Symphonies 61-65". May 21, 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. 2012. “The Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Approach in Action: An Analysis of the Work of Two NGOs in Samoa." PhD Thesis, Massey University. https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/3427.
Giles-Corti, Billie, Serryn Eagleson, and Melanie Lowe. 2014. Securing Australia’s Future - Sustainable Urban Mobility: The Public Health Impact of Transportation Decision. Melbourne: Australian Council of Learned Academics (ACOLA). http://acola.org.au/wp/PDF/SAF08/Health%20Consultancy.pdf.
Hyde, Rory. 2012. Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Architecture. New York: Routledge.
Levin, Michael. 1998. The Condition of England Question: Carlyle, Mill, Engels. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26562-6.
Chadwick, Ben, Chris Cormack, and Aleisha Amohia. 2022. “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/.
Morrison, Blake. 2007. “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.
Samuels, Stuart. 1966. “The Left Book Club.” Journal of Contemporary History 1, no. 2: 65–86.
Spencer, Stephanie. 2005. “Women and the Welfare State.” In Gender, Work and Education in Britain in the 1950s, 22–48. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230286184_2.
Wollan, Gjermund. 2003. “Heidegger’s Philosophy of Space and Place.” Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography 57, no. 1: 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/00291950310000802.
Reference list style notes
In a reference list entry the elements are separated by full stops.
The first-listed author’s name, according to which the entry is alphabetised in the reference list, is inverted (last name first).
Where there are four to ten authors, the in-text reference should give the name of the first author only, followed by ‘et al.’ The reference list entry should include the names of all the authors. See 14.76 and 15.9.
If there are more than ten authors, list the first seven in the reference list, followed by 'et al.' See 14.76.
Two or more works by the same author in the same year must be differentiated by adding a, b, c, and are listed alphabetically by title. In-text citations include author and year plus letter, e.g. (Krauss 2005a, 21) (Krauss 2005b, 218). See 15.20.
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 reference list.
These should appear only in the in-text references.
Secondary citations ("quoted in" or "cited in")
The Chicago Manual of Style advises against citations taken from secondary sources (i.e. “quoted in” or “cited in”), as you are expected to have read the sources you use. If an original source is unavailable, both sources must be identified in-text, but only the secondary source is listed in the Reference List.
In-text
Mention the original author and date in your text, but cite the secondary source in brackets, using “quoted in” or cited in”. For example:
In Sutherland’s article “The Existential Albatross” from the February 2014 issue of Ornithological Metaphor, (cited in Costello 1981)…
Reference List
In your reference list, cite the secondary source. For example:
Costello, Bonnie. 1981. Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
If unsure please ask your lecturer or tutor for further advice.
For more information refer to the Chicago Manual of Style (15.56).
Abbreviations
Acceptable abbreviations in the reference list for parts of books and other publications include:
chap. or ch. | 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 |
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
View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- In Re:cite, there are multiple templates across different style types for the source I am referencing. What should I do?
- I can’t find the specific source in the style guide or on the Re:cite website. What should I do?
Access all referencing FAQs Access further help
Explore resources to help with reference management and enable you to effectively integrate and cite sources into your writing and assessment tasks .
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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