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Chicago Manual of Style (English): Style II: Author-date References

What is the “Author-Date References” style?

The Author-Date Reference style is primarily used for the exact sciences (such as physics, biology, and mathematics) and the social sciences (including psychology and anthropology), but it is also used for philosophy with an analytical focus. According to this style, sources are cited in the body of the text. A reference list is provided at the end of the paper. 

The citations in the body of the text state the surname of the author, followed by the year in which the work was published and any page number(s). The citation in the text is between brackets and typically appears before punctuation marks. Only in the case of a longer quotation does the citation come after the full stop.

The references in the bibliography are based on the references from style I: Notes and Bibliography. In most cases, rearranging the order of the components in the citation is enough to correct it. According to style II: Author-Date References, the publication year follows the author instead of the publisher. For the other components, the same rules typically apply. 

 

Some general rules:

  •  The reference in the text consists of at least: the surname of the author(s) and the year of publication. These are followed by a comma and page numbers if available. 
  • The citation in the text typically appears before the punctuation marks, except after a long quotation. In the latter case, the citation comes after the full stop that ends the quotation. 
  • 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 always use initials, for example C.S. Lewis. 
  • The publication date is the second element, after the author's name.
  • The title of a book or journal must be in italics.
  • The title of a chapter or article is placed between quotation marks.
  • Each reference in the bibliography is ended with a full stop.

Common publication types with examples

Citing a book with a single author

In the text:

In the text, the citation generally appears before the punctuation marks. 

(Surname 2017)

(Surname 2017, page number)

(Van der Heiden 2014)

According to this citation style, you are also permitted to specify the surname of the author, followed by the year of publication between brackets. The following is an example:

Van der Heiden (2014) states that ...

In the bibliography:

  • The surname and first name of the author
  • Year of publication
  • The title of the book in italics
  • ​The location of publication, the publisher
  • An e-book requires a URL or DOI.

Surname, First name. Year of publication. Title in italics: Subtitle. Location of publication: Publisher.

Van der Heiden, Gert-Jan. 2014. Ontology after Ontotheology: Plurality, Event, and Contingency in Contemporary Philosophy. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press.

​Citing a book with two, three, four or more authors

In the text:

If there are three authors or less, you name them all in the citation in the body of the text.

(Surname and Surname Year)

(Surname, Surname, and Surname Year)

In the case of four or more authors, you only name the first author in the body of the text, followed by et al. (et alia: and others):

(Surname et al. Year)

In the bibliography:

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

Surname, First name, First name Surname, and First name Surname. Year. Title in italics: Subtitle. Publication location: Publisher.

​Citing a book with an author and translator or editor

In the text:

In the citations in the text, you specify the author, but not the translator. 

(Surname of author Year)

(Schleiermacher 1977)

In the bibliography:

In the bibliography, you first specify the author and you only name the editor or translator after the title.

Surname, First name. Year. Title in italics: Edited by First name Surname. Location of publication: Publisher.

Surname, First name. Year. Title in italics: Translated by First name Surname. Location of publication: Publisher.

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

​Citing a book with an editor or multiple editors

In the text:

(Editor and editor, Year)

(Magnus and Higgins, 1996)

In the bibliography:

Surname, First name, and First name Surname. Year. Title in italics. Location of publication: Publisher.

Magnus, Bernd, and Kathleen Higgins. 1996. The Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Citing a chapter of a book with a single author

In the text:

(Author Year)

(Smith 2001)

In the bibliography:

Surname, First name. Year. "Title of the Chapter." In Title of the book, Chapter page numbers. Location: Publisher.

Smith, Mark. 2001. "The Traits of Deities." In The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts, 83-103. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

​Citing a chapter of a book with multiple authors

In the text:

(Surname of author Year)

In the bibliography:

Surname, First name. Year. "Title of the Chapter." In Title of the book, edited by First name Surname, Chapter page numbers. Location: Publisher.

Schweitzer, Friedrich. 2002. "Social Constructionism and Religious Education: Towards a New Dialogue." In Social Constructionism Theology, edited by C.A.M. Hermans, G. Immink, A. de Jong, and J. van der Lans, 171-185. Leiden: Brill. ​

 

 

Citing a chapter of a book with multiple authors

In the text:

(Surname of author Year)

(Schweitzer 2002)

In the bibliography:

Surname, First name. Year. "Title of the Chapter." In Title of the book, edited by First name Surname, Chapter page numbers. Location: Publisher.

Schweitzer, Friedrich. 2002. "Social Constructionism and Religious Education: Towards a New Dialogue." In Social Constructionism Theology, edited by C.A.M. Hermans, G. Immink, A. de Jong, and J. van der Lans, 171-185. Leiden: Brill. ​

Citing an article from a journal

In the text:

In the text, an article is cited as follows:

(Author Year)

(Caston 1999)

According to this citation style, you are also permitted to specify the surname of the author, followed by the year of publication between brackets. The following is an example:

According to Caston (1999), we must look at the logical structure of Aristoteles’ argument in order to know whether he draws a distinction between various souls or between different faculties of the soul.

In the bibliography:

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

  • The name of the author.
  • Year of publication
  • The title and subtitle of the article between quotation marks. The full stop between the title of the article and the title of the journal must be between the quotation marks.
  • The title of the journal in italics
  • Information about the journal issue, ended with a colon if page numbers are to follow
  • Page numbers
  • For online journals, provide a DOI or if unavailable a URL

Surname, First name. Year. "Title of the article." Title of the journal in italics vol. (no.): article pages. DOI.

Caston, Victor. 1999. "Aristotle's Two Intellects: A Modest Proposal." Phronesis 44 (3): 199-227. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685289960500033.

Encyclopaedias

The Author-Date References style does not lend itself well to citing an encyclopaedia. In Chapter 15, there are no guidelines for citing an encyclopaedia. The examples below are based on the examples and guidelines from Chapter 14 on Notes and Bibliography. References in the bibliography are not a problem, but the citations in the text are problematic if no author is specified for the entries from the encyclopaedia.

Citing a print encyclopaedia

​In the bibliography:

  • Title of the encyclopaedia
  • Edition
  • The 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.

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

Citing an online encyclopaedia

​In the bibliography:

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

(Author Year)

In the bibliography:

Surname, First name. Year. "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 text. 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 author (if stated)
  • The owner of the site
  • Year
  • The title of the page or a description of the page
  • 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. 
  • URL

In the text:

(Owner or Author Year)

In the bibliography:

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