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Chicago Referencing Guide

Chicago referencing has two different styles: a footnotes style, which is usually used in humanities disciplines, and an in-text citation style, which is most commonly used in the sciences.

Key things to remember

There are two types of Chicago referencing. One style uses footnotes, which are marked in text with a number by the citation and detailed in full at the bottom of the page, and bibliographies, which should include all works directly cited in the piece as well as any sources which have been examined in relation to the subject. This is very similar to Oxford referencing. The other uses in-text citations which are listed in a reference list at the end of the work (like Harvard referencing). Examples of how to render both styles will be given in this guide.

Footnotes should be displayed in text like this:

'Lille and Cranmer¹ purport that this is the best option for modern restaurant-goers.'

The full citation that would be found at the bottom of the page would then be presented like so:

¹ Jennifer Lille and Elsa Cranmer, Savvy: A Restaurant Guide. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 2005), 25.

Subsequent citations of the same source in the footnotes can be condensed – e.g.:

¹ Lille and Cranmer, Savvy, 27.

A full citation for this source would also be found in the bibliography: the only difference is that in the bibliography, the author's surname is listed first. These should be displayed alphabetically by author's surname.

In-text citations should be presented like so: (Jones and Hughes, 2004, 9).

1. Books

Citations for books with one author:

Footnote style

Last name, first name. Title. Edition (if not the first edition of the book). (City of publication: Publisher, Year).

In-text style

Last name, first name. Year. Title. Edition (if not the first edition of the book). City of publication: Publisher.

For example:

Footnote style

Davis, Bryan. A History of Chocolate. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 2011).

In-text style

Davis, Bryan. 2013. A History of Chocolate. 3rd ed. Nottingham: Delectable Publications.

Citations for books with two or three authors:

Footnote style

Last name, first name and Last name, first name. Title. Edition (if not the first edition of the book). (City of publication: Publisher, Year).

In-text style

Last name, first name, Last name, first name and Last name, first name. Year. Title. Edition (if not the first edition of the book). City of publication: Publisher.

For example:

Footnote style

Jones, Felicity and Hughes, Sam. Eating Out: A Definitive Restaurant Handbook. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 2006).

In-text style

Evans, Drew, McDonald, Fenella and Jackson, Trig. 2008. Getting the best service. Nottingham: Delectable Publications.

Citations for books with four or more authors:

If a book has four or more authors, only the first author's name should be listed in-text followed by 'et al.'. In the reference list/bibliography, you should list all authors. This is the same in both Chicago styles.

Footnote style

Last name, first name, Last name, first name, Last name, first name, and Last name, first name. Title. (City of publication: Publisher, Year).

In-text style

Last name, first name, Last name, first name and Last name, first name. Year. Title. Edition (if not the first edition of the book). City of publication: Publisher.

For example:

Footnote style

James, Patrick, Croft, David, Levin, Susan and Doe, Andrew. How to Succeed in the Restaurant Industry. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 1998).

In-text style

James, Patrick, Croft, David, Levin, Susan and Doe, Andrew 1998. How to Succeed in the Restaurant Industry. Nottingham: Delectable Publications.

Citations for a chapter in an edited book:

When citing a single chapter in a larger book, it is important to ensure that you add the page range (pp.) that the chapter spans.

Footnote style

Last name, first name. 'Chapter name' in Book title, ed. by Editor/s name/s. (City of publication: Publisher, Year). Page/s.

In-text style

Last name, first name. Year. 'Chapter name'. In: Book Title. Edited by: Editor/s name/s. Edition (if not the first edition of the book). City of publication: Publisher.

For example:

Footnote style

King, Sandra. 'The best wines and where to find them' in Fine Wine: A Guide, ed. by Edward Loftus. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 2010). pp. 28-46.

In-text style

King, Sandra. 2010. 'The best wines and where to find them'. In: Fine Wine: A Guide, edited by Edward Loftus, 28-46. Nottingham: Delectable Publications.

Citations for multiple books by the same author:

In text, the author's texts can usually be differentiated by year. They should be listed in chronological order of publication. Where you are citing two works by the same author which were published in the same year, these should be labelled with 'a', 'b', 'c' and so on directly after the year.

Footnote style

Last name, first name. Title. Edition (if not the first edition of the book). City of publication: Publisher, Year.

In-text style

For example:

Footnote style

Brown, Graham. Mexican Food. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 2011).

Brown, Graham. Japanese Food. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 2014).

Brown, Graham. Chinese Food. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 2015a).

Brown, Graham. Italian Food. (Nottingham: Delectable Publications, 2015b).

In-text style

Brown, Graham. 2011. Mexican Food. Nottingham: Delectable Publications.

Brown, Graham. 2014. Japanese Food. Nottingham: Delectable Publications.

Brown, Graham. 2015a. Chinese Food. Nottingham: Delectable Publications.

Brown, Graham. 2015b. Italian Food. Nottingham: Delectable Publications.

2. Articles

Citations for Print Journals

Footnote style

Last name, First initial. "Article Title," Journal name, Volume.Issue (Year): Page/s.

In-text style

Last name, First initial. Year. "Article Title," Journal name, Volume.Issue: Page/s.

For example:

Footnote style

Jenkins, Oliver. "Unusual Recipes and Cantonese Cuisine," Culinary Research, Volume 5.8 (1996): 47-59.

In-text style

Jenkins, Oliver. 1996. "Unusual Recipes and Cantonese Cuisine," Culinary Research, Volume 5.8:47-59.

Citations for Journal Articles accessed on a website or database

In both styles of Chicago, you should cite the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) wherever possible.

Footnote style

Last name, First initial. "Article Title." Journal name, Volume.Issue (Year): Page/s. Accessed: date, DOI/ URL.

In-text style

Last name, First initial. Year. "Article Title," Journal name, Volume.Issue: Page/s. Accessed: date. DOI or URL.

For example:

Footnote style

Jenkins, Oliver. "Unusual Recipes and Cantonese Cuisine," Culinary Research, Volume 5.8 (1996): 47-59. Accessed 12 May 2015. < http://j.culinaryresearch.2010.10.009>

In-text style

Jenkins, Oliver. 1996. "Unusual Recipes and Cantonese Cuisine," Culinary Research, Volume 5.8: 47-59. Accessed 12 May 2015. < http://j.culinaryresearch.2010.10.009>

Citations for Newspaper or Magazine Articles – Print or Online:

Newspaper or magazine citations are rendered similarly to journal articles; the same differences in formatting occur, as the example below illustrates.

Footnote style

Last name, First name. 'Article title.' Newspaper name, Date published, Page/s.

Last name, First name. 'Article Title.' Newspaper name, Date published, Page/s. Accessed: Date. <URL>

In-text style

Last name, First name. Year. 'Article title.' Newspaper name, Date published, Page/s.

Last name, First name. Year. 'Article Title.' Newspaper name, Date published, Page/s. Accessed: date. <URL>

For example:

Footnote style

Bell, Yvette. 'Man with unusual tastes eats chalk for breakfast'. The Weekly Herald. April 23 2016, 4.

Lees, Peter. 'Freaky eaters'. The Weekly Herald 14 December 2013. Accessed 11 December 2014. <www.theweeklyheraldonline.com/freakyeaters2015>

In-text style

Bell, Yvette. 2016. 'Man with unusual tastes eats chalk for breakfast'. The Weekly Herald. April 23 2016, p. 4.

Lees, Peter. 2013. 'Freaky eaters'. The Weekly Herald, 14 December. Accessed 11 December 2014. <www.theweeklyheraldonline.com/freakyeaters2015>

3. Online sources

Citations for websites:

When citing a website, it is important to ascertain authorship of the website – if it's an article on website which is not a newspaper/magazine site or online journal, there may be an individual author; if not, the organisation or website name would be credited with authorship.

Footnote style

Author/Source if no specific author, "Title of web document/page," Website name if different than author name, Date last updated if available. Accessed: date. <URL>

In-text style

Author/Source if no specific author, Year. "Title of web document/page," Website name if different than author name, Date last updated if available. Accessed: date. <URL>

For example:

Footnote style

HealthTips.com, "Superfoods and where to find them," last updated 11 June 2014. Accessed: 23 June 2016. <www.healthtipsarticles.com/superfoodsandwheretofindthem>

In-text style

HealthTips.com, 2014. "Superfoods and where to find them," last updated 11 June 2014. Accessed: 23 June 2016. <www.healthtipsarticles.com/superfoodsandwheretofindthem>

4. Images/visual mediums

Citations for films/videos/DVDs:

Footnote style

Full Title of Film/Video/DVD, directed by Name of Director. Year; City/country of origin: film studio or distributor, Year of medium release if appropriate. Medium.

In-text style

Full Title of Film/Video/DVD. Year. Directed by Name of Director. City/country of origin: film studio or distributor, Year of medium release if appropriate. Medium.

For example:

Footnote style

The World's Best Curries, directed by Jackson Hertz. 2008; Nottingham: Foodie Studios. Film.

In-text style

The World's Best Curries, 2008. Directed by Jackson Hertz. Nottingham: Foodie Studios. Film.

Citations for YouTube videos:

Footnote style

"Video Title". Filmed [Month Year]. YouTube Video, Duration. Posted by "Name of contributor", Month Year. <URL>

In-text style

Name/Username of contributor. "Video Title". Filmed [Month Year]. YouTube Video, Duration. Posted by "Name of contributor" [Month Year]. <URL>

For example:

Footnote style

"Egg custard – simple recipe!". Filmed [June 2013]. YouTube Video, 13.45. Posted by "Yummydishes", June 2013. <www.youtube.com/yummydisheseggcustard>

In-text style

Yummydishes. "Egg custard – simple recipe!". Filmed [June 2013]. YouTube Video, 13.45. Posted [June 2013]. <www.youtube.com/yummydisheseggcustard>

Citations for images/photographs – Print or Online:

Footnote style

Last name, first name. Title of image. Year. Format of image, "Collection name".

Last name, first name. Title of image. Year. Format of image, "Collection name". <URL>

In-text style

Last name, first name. Year. Title of image. Format of image, "Collection name".

Last name, first name. Year. Title of image. From Name of Website. URL.

For example:

Footnote style

Hewer, Drella. Women enjoying a cup of tea. 1995. Photograph. "Food Photography Library".

Hewer, Drella. Women enjoying a cup of tea. 1995. Photograph. "Food Photography Library". <www.phototoday/dhewerteaphoto>

In-text style

Hewer, Drella. 1995. Women enjoying a cup of tea. "Food Photography Library".

Hewer, Drella. 1995. Women enjoying a cup of tea. 1995. From PhotoToday Online www.phototoday/dhewerteaphoto.

5. Other source types

Citations for dissertations:

Footnote style

Last name of author, first name. "Title of dissertation". Level. Official name of university, year.

In-text style

Last name of author, first name. Year. "Title of dissertation". Level. Official name of university.

For example:

Footnote style

Neath, G. "An examination of Mexican food in popular culture." Masters thesis. Oxford Brookes University: 1998.

In-text style

Neath, G. 1998. "An examination of Mexican food in popular culture". Masters thesis. Oxford Brookes University.

Citations for government/official publications:

Footnote style

Government agency/Last name of author, first name. Year. Title of document. (City of publication: publisher, year).

In-text style

Government agency/Last name of author, first name. Year. Title of document. City of publication: publisher.

For example:

Footnote style

UK Government. Nutrition and Young People. (London: Government Publications, 2013).

In-text style

UK Government. 2013. Nutrition and Young People. London: Government Publications.

Citations for interviews:

Footnote style

Last name of interviewer, first name. Interview with Interviewee's name. Publication Details if applicable. Location, Day Month Year.

In-text style

Last name of interviewer, first name. Year. Interview with Interviewee's name. Publication Details if applicable. Day Month. Location.

For example:

Footnote style

Ferman, Helen. Interview with Olivia Bill. Delicious Magazine. London, 6 October 2011.

In-text style

Ferman, Helen. 2011. Interview with Olivia Bill. Delicious Magazine. 6 October. London.

Citations for music:

Footnote style

Performer/writer's last name, first name. Recording title. Music publisher. CD/LP reference number if available. Year. Format.

In-text style

Performer/writer's last name, first name. Year. Recording title. Music publisher. CD/LP reference number if available. Year of CD issue if different, Format.

For example:

Footnote style

Luce, Frankie. Delicious. Delectable Music. CD 487 685-3. 1996. CD recording.

In-text style

Luce, Frankie. 1996. Delicious. Delectable Music. CD 487 685-3. 1999, CD recording.