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Chicago Manual of Style (English): Style I: Notes and Bibliography

What is the “Notes and Bibliography” style?


The Notes and Bibliography citation style is primarily used in the humanities, such as history, literature studies, and (continental) philosophy. Source citations are shown in footnotes at the bottom of each page or in endnotes at the end of the paper. Each citation has a number that corresponds to a number in the body of the text. There is a bibliography at the end of the paper in which all works are stated again. Each publication type determines how you have to cite the sources used. Citations in footnotes or endnotes look different than references in the bibliography.

Some general rules:

  • In the first citation of a specific publication in the footnotes or endnotes, you provide complete information on the source. In subsequent citations to the same publication, you can use an abbreviated version.
  • In the footnotes and endnotes, the different components of the citation are distinguished using commas. For example, a comma must be placed between the name of the author and the title. Please note that there no comma is placed before the publication information.
  • In the bibliography, the different components of the citation are distinguished using full stops.
  • Preferably use the full given name instead of initials. Except for authors who alwyas use initials, for example C.S. Lewis. 
  • The title of a book or journal must be in italics.
  • The title of a chapter or article is placed between quotation marks.
  • All references are ended with a full stop, in the footnotes and endnotes as well as in the bibliography. 

Common publication types with examples

Citing a book with a single author

In the footnotes or endnotes:

In the first citation of a specific book in the footnotes or endnotes, you provide complete information on the source.

  • The first name and surname of the author. Initials for authors who always only use their initials, but preferably you supply their full names.
  • The title of the book in italics.
  • ​The publishing location, publisher, and the year in which the work was published are placed between brackets.
  • ​The page numbers
  • An e-book requires a URL or DOI

The different components of a citation are distinguished using commas (with the exception of between the title or subtitle and the publication information) and you end the citation with a full stop. In subsequent citations to the same book, you can use an abbreviated version. Below is an example of how a citation should look:

1.      First name Surname, Full title in italics: Subtitle (Location: Publisher, year), page number.

2.      First name Surname, Full title in italics: Subtitle (Location: Publisher, year), URL or DOI.

3.      Surname, Abbr. title in italics, page number.


4.      Gert-Jan van der Heiden, Ontology after Ontotheology: Plurality, Event, and Contingency in Contemporary Philosophy (Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2015).

5.      Van der Heiden, Ontology after Ontotheology, 230.

In the bibliography:

In the bibliography, you provide the surname and first name of the author or editor, the full title and subtitle in italics, the publishing location, and the year of publication (not between brackets in the bibliography). The different components of the citation are distinguished using full stops (not with commas as in the footnotes and endnotes). A book citation appears in the bibliography as follows:

Surname, First name. Full title and subtitle in italics. Publishing location: Publisher, year of publication.

Van der Heiden, Gert-Jan. Ontology after Ontotheology: Plurality, Event, and Contingency in Contemporary Philosophy. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2015.


​Citing a book with two or more authors (or editors)

In the footnotes or endnotes:

Use the same order of names as on the title page of the book. The names are separated using commas and the last name is preceded by “and”. If you are referring to editors, place “red.” after the last editor. 

1.      First name Surname, First name Surname, and First name Surname, Full title in italics: Subtitle (Location: Publisher, year), page number.

2.      Surname, Surname, and Surname, Abbr. title in italics, page number.
 

3.      Chris Hermans, Gerrit Immink, Aalbert de Jong, and Jan van der Lans, red., Social Constructionism and Theology. (Leiden: Brill, 2002).​

In the bibliography:

In the bibliography, the surname of the first author comes first followed by a comma and the first name of the first author. For subsequent authors, the first name comes first and is followed by the surname. This appears as follows:

Surname, First name, First name Surname, and First name Surname. Full title and subtitle in italics. Publishing location: Publisher, year of publication.

Hermans Chris, Gerrit Immink, Albert de Jong, and Jan van der Lans, red. Social Constructionism and Theology. Leiden: Brill, 2002.​

 


Citing a book with an author and translator or editor

In the footnotes or endnotes:

In the first citation of a specific book, you provide complete information on the source in the footnotes or endnotes:

  • The first name and surname of the author
  • The title of the book in italics
  • translated/ edited by: First name and Surname of the translator or editor 
  • ​The publishing location, publisher, and the year in which the work was published are placed between brackets.
  • ​The page numbers

1.      First name Surname, Full title in italics: Subtitle (Location: Publisher, year), page number.

2.      Surname, Abbr. title in italics, page number.
 

3.      Friedrich Schleiermacher, Hermeneutics: the Handwritten Manuscripts, translated by Heinz Kimmerle. (Missoula: Scholars Press for the American Academy of Religion, 1977), 44.

4.      Schleiermacher, Hermeneutics, 56.

In the bibliography:

The title is followed by: “Translated by First name Surname” or “Edited by First name Surname”, ended with a full stop and then followed by the publication information.

Surname, First name. Full title and subtitle in italics. Translated by First name Surname. Publishing location: Publisher, year of publication.

Schleiermacher, Friedrich. Hermeneutics: the Handwritten Manuscripts. Translated by Heinz Kimmerle. Missoula: Scholars Press for the American Academy of Religion, 1977.

Citing a chapter of a book with a single author

In the footnotes or endnotes:

In the first citation, you provide the complete source information: the name of the author, the title of the chapter between quotation marks followed by “in”, and the title of the book, then, between brackets, the publication location, the publisher, and the year in which the work was published, followed by a comma and the page numbers. The different components of a citation are distinguished using commas (with the exception of between the title or subtitle and the publication information) and you end the citation with a full stop. Please note that the comma after the title of the chapter must be within the quotation marks. In subsequent citations to the same chapter, you can use an abbreviated version. A citation for a chapter should look as follows:

1.      First name Surname, “Title of the chapter between quotation marks,” in Full title in italics: Subtitle (Location: Publisher, year), page number.

2.      Surname, “Abbr. title of the chapter,” page number.

In the bibliography:

In the bibliography, you provide the first name and surname of the author or editor, the title of the chapter between quotation marks followed by “In”, the full title and subtitle in italics, the publishing location, and the year of publication (not between brackets in the bibliography). The different components of the citation are distinguished using full stops (not with commas as in the footnotes and endnotes). A citation for a chapter from a book appears in the bibliography as follows:

Surname, First name. "Title of the Chapter." In Full title and Subtitle in italics. Publishing location: Publisher, year of publication.​

Citing a chapter of a book with multiple authors

In the footnotes or endnotes:

In the first citation, you provide complete source information:

  • Author of the chapter
  • Title of the chapter between quotation marks
  • Followed by “in” and the title of the book in italics 
  • “Edited by” name of the editor
  • The publishing location, publisher, and the year in which the work was published placed between brackets and followed by a comma and the page numbers

The different components of a citation are distinguished using commas (with the exception of between the title or subtitle and the publication information) and you end the citation with a full stop. Please note that the comma after the title of the chapter must be between the quotation marks. In subsequent citations to the same chapter, you can use an abbreviated version. A citation for a chapter from a book with multiple authors appears as follows:

  1. First name Surname, “Title of the chapter between quotation marks,” in Full title in italics: Subtitle, edited by Name (Location: Publisher, year), page number.
  2. Surname, “Abbr. title of the chapter,” page number.

In the bibliography:

In the bibliography, you provide the first name and surname of the author, the title of the chapter between quotation marks followed by “In” and the full title and subtitle in italics, “Edited by” the name of the editor, the publishing location, and the year of publication (not between brackets in the bibliography). The different components of the citation are distinguished using full stops (not with commas as in the footnotes and endnotes). A citation for a chapter from a book by multiple authors appears in the bibliography as follows:

Surname, First name. "Title of the Chapter." In Full title and Subtitle in italics. Edited by First name Surname, page numbers. Publication location: Publisher, year of publication.​

 

Citing an article from a journal

In the footnotes or endnotes:

A citation for an article in a journal requires (at least some of) the following information:

  • The name of the author followed by a comma
  • The title and subtitle of the article between quotation marks. The comma between the title of the article and the title of the journal must be between the quotation marks.
  • Title of the journal in italics
  • Information on the journal issue
  • Year of publication between brackets, closed with a colon if page numbers are to follow
  • Page numbers, closed with a full stop if it is a print journal If it is an online journal, the page numbers are followed by a comma, because more information is provided. 
  • For online journals, include the date you viewed it
  • For online journals, provide a URL or DOI.

 

A citation in the footnotes or endnotes for an article in a journal appears as follows:

1.      First name Surname, "Title of the article between quotation marks," Title of the journal in italics, 1 (2016): page numbers.

2.      First name Surname, "Title of the article between quotation marks," Title of the journal in italics, 1 (2016): page numbers, viewed on 01-01-2017, URL or DOI.

3.      Surname, “Abbr. title of the article between quotation marks,” page numbers.
 

4.      Victor Caston, "Aristotle's Two Intellects: A Modest Proposal," Phronesis 44 (1999): 199-227, viewed on 18-07-2017, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4182619.

5.      Caston, "Aristotle's Two Intellects," 203.

In the bibliography:

Surname, First name. "Title of the article between quotation marks," Title of the journal in italics, 1 (2016): page numbers. 

Surname, First name. "Title of the article between quotation marks," Title of the journal in italics, 1 (2016): page numbers. Viewed on 01-01-2017. URL or DOI.

Caston, Victor. "Aristotle's Two Intellects: A Modest Proposal." Phronesis 44 (1999): 199-227. Viewed on 18-07-2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4182619.

Encyclopaedias

If you consulted an encyclopaedia (or other reference work), you can cite the reference work in the footnotes or endnotes according to the Chicago Manual of Style. Whether you include the reference in your bibliography as well depends on what kind of encyclopaedia it is and how well known it is. If it is a well-known encyclopaedia, you only have to include a citation in the footnotes and endnotes according to the CMS. Since this is not a hard and fast rule, we recommend that you include a reference to the encyclopaedia in the bibliography when in doubt. Please note that there are multiple ways to cite an entry from an encyclopaedia. If it concerns a comprehensive entry that states the author’s name, the citation must be structured differently. See the example below for such a citation.

Citing a print encyclopaedia

  • Title of the encyclopaedia in italics
  • Edition
  • Any publication information
  • If the encyclopaedia is organised alphabetically, provide the entry instead of page numbers or the volume number. You place s.v. (sub verbo: below the word) before the entry or, if you consulted multiple entries, s.vv..

In the endnotes or footnotes:

1.      Title of the Encyclopaedia in italics, 1st ed., s.v. "entry".

2.      Title of the Encyclopaedia in italics, 1st ed. (Location of publication, Publisher, year of publication), s.vv. “entry,” “entry.”

 

In the bibliography:

Title of the Encyclopaedia in italics. 1st ed. Location of publication, Publisher, year of publication.


Citing an online encyclopaedia

In the endnotes or footnotes:

  • Title of the encyclopaedia in italics
  • s.v. and the entry consulted between quotation marks
  • Date of publication or revision (if this is stated) or the date consulted
  • URL or DOI

1.      Title of the encyclopaedia, s.v. "Entry," consulted on 03-07-2017, URL or DOI.

2.      Title of the encyclopaedia, s.v. "Entry," last modified on 21-12-2016, URL or DOI.

In the bibliography:

Title of the Encyclopaedia in italics. 1st ed. Location of publication, Publisher, year of publication. URL or DOI.

Title of the Encyclopaedia in italics. Consulted on 03-07-2017. URL or DOI.

Title of the Encyclopaedia in italics. Last modified on 21-12-2016. URL or DOI.

 


​Stating the author

If the encyclopaedia consists of substantial entries for which the author is known, it can also be relevant to specify the author of the article from the encyclopaedia. Examples of these include extensive articles from the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy and the Encyclopaedia of Christianity Online. If the author of the entry is indicated in the citation, it will look like a citation for a contribution to a book with multiple authors. 

In the endnotes or footnotes:

1.      First name, Surname, "Title of entry," in Title of Encyclopaedia (Location of publication, Publisher, year of publication).

2.      First name, Surname, "Title of entry," in Title of Encyclopaedia, consulted on 03-07-2017, URL or DOI.

In the bibliography:

First name, Surname "Title of the entry." In Title of the Encyclopaedia. Encyclopaedia publication information. Article publication information or date consulted. DOI or URL.

Citing a website

It is often sufficient to simply mention a website in the text or include a citation in the footnotes or endnotes. Since the content of websites changes often, it is recommended that you state the date you accessed it or the date it was last modified. 

The following components may appear in the citation:

  • The title of the page or a description of the page
  • The author (if stated)
  • The owner of the site
  • URL
  • Publication date or the date it was last modified. If no date is given for when the page was published or last modified, provide the date that you accessed the page. 

In the footnotes or endnotes:

1.      "Title or description of the page," Author, Site owner, date of publication/modification/access, URL.

In the bibliography:

Owner or author. "Title of the page or a description of the page." Date of publication/modification/access. URL.